100 million fish released in waterways in China-Russia border

"The number of fish released this time has set a record," said an official from the provincial government, which co-organised the fish release alongside the Ministry of Agriculture.

Experts said about 500,000 of the fish released are endangered and included sturgeon and bighead carp varieties.

They were provided by the provincial aquatic wildlife rescue centre, state run Xinhua reported.

A large number was released in the Songhuajiang and Heilongjiang rivers.

Provincial authorities have asked fishermen to refrain from fishing in public waters for at least one week to aid in the protection of fishery resources.

Statistics state that during the 2006-2010 period, more than 280 million fish were released in the region's public waters.