On the 21st local time, the International Union for the conservation of nature and natural resources (IUCN) released the latest version of the global red list of endangered species, announcing that the Yangtze River sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus) has changed from extremely dangerous to wild extinction, and confirmed that the white sturgeon (Psephurus gladius) is extinct. (data picture: Chinese sturgeon specimens in the Museum of Aquatic Bioscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences.) White sturgeon is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. It is listed as a national first-class protected wild animal in China and was once listed as a "extremely dangerous" species by IUCN. At the beginning of 2020, the team of Wei Qiwei, chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, published a paper on the extinction of white sturgeon. According to IUCN's official website, 26 species of sturgeon in the world are at risk of extinction. The report issued by IUCN pointed out that sturgeon faced multiple threats worldwide, especially illegal fishing caused by the illegal trade in wild caviar and fish meat. In addition, dams hinder migration and global warming also affect the reproduction of sturgeons. Freshwater fish protection experts said that the diversity of freshwater species supports the health of the freshwater ecosystem and the whole earth. The news released this time about the state of sturgeons in the world "should sound a red alarm about the decline in the health of lakes and rivers where sturgeons live". (Xinhua News Agency)