Ocean Park is saddened to announce the loss of a captive bred Chinese sturgeon today that had been under intensive care in the back of house support facilities since May.
The sturgeon was part of 15 captive bred Chinese sturgeons donated to Ocean Park in February 2014 by Yangtze River Fishery Research Institution (YRFRI). Since the death of the two sturgeons in April and May due to bacterial infection, Ocean Park had been closely monitoring the remaining 13 Chinese sturgeons. When three sturgeons were identified with signs of bacterial infection, they were immediately separated from the other 10 healthy sturgeons. While one of these three infected sturgeons recovered later and rejoined the other healthy populations, two remained isolated under intensive treatment. During the course of events, Ocean Park has been working closely with the experts from the YRFRI and Beijing Aquarium on treating the sturgeons.
At around 11:05 a.m. today, one of the two quarantined sturgeons was found upside down. Aquarists and the veterinary team attended to it immediately, but attempts to resuscitate the sturgeon were unsuccessful and it was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. today.
Ms. Suzanne Gendron, Executive Director of Zoological Operations and Education, said, “We are extremely saddened by the loss of the sturgeon. We are committed to providing the best medical treatment to the remaining sturgeon in quarantine.”
Prof. Wei Qi-wei Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, said, “We have been working closely with Ocean Park on treating the sturgeons, and are confident that the Park will continue to provide excellent care to the Chinese sturgeons and serve as an education platform for the efforts being made to breed and conserve the species.”
The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China and YRFRI were notified of the incident immediately.
