HEFEI -- A Chinese sturgeon was found in a tributary of the Yangtze River in Ma'anshan city, East China's Anhui Province, on Sunday.

Residents found the rare fish trapped in a filtering pond along the Yunliang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, on Sunday morning and reported it to local authorities. The species measures 50 cm long and weighs about 10 kg. Its body is grayish brown, the abdomen is grayish white, and its body is spindle-shaped.

Experts from the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau identified this species as the Chinese sturgeon, a national first-level key protected wild animal, and the fish is in good health.

Then, it was released into the river.

Xia Dejun, an official with the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau, said, "This is the first time that a wild Chinese sturgeon has been found in the Ma'anshan section of the Yangtze River since the implementation of the 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River Basin. This also shows that the habitat of aquatic organisms in this section of the Yangtze River has been further improved."