The Yangtze River dolphin or baiji is the only living representative of an entire family of mammals, having diverged from all other river dolphins more than 20 million years ago. Survey results indicate that the species has rapidly and continuously declined over the last 30 years, and an international survey conducted in November-December 2006 from Yichang to Shanghai (the entirety of the baiji's recent historical range) failed to locate any surviving animals.

If any baiji still survive in the Yangtze system, it is imperative to locate these last individuals as soon as possible. Even if the species is already extinct, there is no clear understanding of which threat processes caused its decline. The Yangtze Basin is home to over 10% of the world's human population, and the river system has experienced massive human habitat degradation from a number of causes. It is likely that the primary reason for baiji mortality has been legal and illegal fishing practices such as gill-nets, rolling hook lines and electro-fishing, but there are few data to determine whether this is the case. Any better information on the specific reasons for the decline of the baiji will be invaluable for developing conservation strategies for preserving the Yangtze's other threatened cetacean, the Yangtze finless porpoise (the world's only freshwater porpoise), and the two other Top 100 EDGE river dolphins - the Ganges and Indus River dolphins.

EDGE plans to support a series of 500-600 interviews with fishermen in the Yangtze main channel, side channels and tributaries, to gather data on when baiji were last seen in different parts of the river, how many baiji and porpoises are known to have been caught in fishing gear, and invaluable information on the impact of Yangtze fisheries on a range of freshwater species. The survey will also promote awareness amongst local people along the river about the importance of conserving the previous but fragile Yangtze ecosystem, and its many threatened species.

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£1000 Could cover in-country training and field costs for a local student to research and help conserve an EDGE species.