China blows up 300 dams, shuts hydropower stations to save Yangtze River habitat

Scientists hope the sturgeon known as the Yangtze’s last giant and other rare species may return to their breeding grounds as a result

Over the decades, water flows have been increasingly blocked by the dense network of hydropower stations and dams, restricting water volumes downstream and occasionally even causing some sections to dry up entirely.

This has drastically reduced the amount of suitable habitat and spawning grounds. The stations also blocked the routes of migratory fish species between breeding grounds and non-breeding areas.