CHENGDU -- Chinese scientists have bred Sichuan taimen, an endangered fish species listed as a national first-class protected animal.

Scientists from the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, and other institutions successfully established the only artificial population of Sichuan taimen in China in 2016, laying the foundation for the conservation of the species' genetic resources and the restoration of its natural populations.

This year, the research team successfully induced multiple batches of the species' parent fish, and more than 3,500 offspring at the age of two months have survived so far. This achievement marks the complete artificial breeding of Sichuan taimen.

The researchers will continue to promote the recovery and reconstruction of the species' wild populations, and conduct ecological restoration of their habitats, said Du Jun, an official with the fisheries institute of the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

They will identify suitable spawning habitats to conduct research on natural reproduction techniques while enhancing artificial breeding technology for the species, Du added.