A fishing ban on the Yangtze River halted seven decades of biodiversity decline. A study published in the journal Science (Volume 391, Issue 6786, Pages 719-723, February 2026) demonstrates the main finding that a ten-year fishing ban led to a significant increase in the number of species. This ban was fully implemented from January 1, 2021 in the key waters of the river basin by China. Previously, the decline in biodiversity lasted for seven decades due to overfishing and other human impacts. An example of recovery is the Chinese sturgeon, whose numbers are increasing significantly. The ban applies to the 6,300 km long river, which is home to 4,000 aquatic species. These facts confirm the positive impact of the measure on ecosystem restoration.