SEE’s Save the Smile of the Yangtze River Project aims to increase the engagement of social organizations in saving the Yangtze finless porpoise and the effectiveness of their actions. A synergy will hence be formed among governments, higher education and research institutions, enterprises, NGOs and the public to effectively protect this critically endangered species. Ultimately its population will be restored and the vision of a sound and healthy development of the Yangtze ecosystem realized.
With the support from the Ministry of Agriculture, the project has explored and set up an auxiliary patrol system where 106 former fishermen were transferred to rangers and guarding the 11 demonstration sites along the Yangtze River and in Poyang and Dongting Lakes. By the end of 2023, it had established 846 assist patrol teams and trained over 25,000 fishery-assist patrol personnel. The project also organized training for 635 key personnel of the assist patrol teams and engaged them in activities such as water inspections, public education, and the protection of aquatic species, making them an important supplement to the ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River.
