Porpoise guardian: a Chinese photographer's decade-long endeavor

Among his artistic friends, 67-year-old amateur photographer Yu Huigong is known for spending his retired life differently.

On a cold winter's day, when others were painting pictures in cozy rooms, Yu would be out in the roaring wind, closing his right eye, which is afflicted with glaucoma, while struggling to peek through the viewfinder with his left. In order to capture a good photo of the Yangtze finless porpoise, he would stand for hours on end in the freezing waters of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake.

The Yangtze finless porpoise is the only freshwater subspecies of the finless porpoise family. The species, only found in parts of the middle and lower reaches of the river, has lived here for 25 million years.

A decade ago, photographing finless porpoises became Yu's passion. For three months, Yu drove 180 km every day from his home in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, to take pictures of what was known to him as the "river pig," an angelic creature he saw in abundance back when he was a little boy and came across again when critically endangered.

Ten years on, Yu remains as passionate as ever. Recognized as "the first man in China to take pictures of finless porpoises in the wild", Yu's work was featured in the UNESCO Courier magazine.

By taking photos, he seeks to increase public awareness around the protection of this iconic species of the Yangtze River, whose number fell to just over 1,000 in 2018.

"Wildlife photography was a personal interest at first, but it kindled the flame for something far more meaningful," said Yu. "I decided to become a guardian of these beautiful creatures."

Now head of the Poyang Lake Finless Porpoise Conservation Association, Yu devotes eight months a year to photography and patrolling at Poyang Lake, home to nearly half of the Yangtze finless porpoise population.

Through his lens, Yu also recorded the decade-long changes in their habitat and bore witness to the country's strengthening efforts to safeguard biodiversity.

In Yu's laptop, there is a 2014 photo titled "Trapped": a finless porpoise was jumping out of the water, but in the foreground, an ominous line of seine nets lay in wait. "If the water fell lower, the finless porpoise trapped inside would die," said Yu. "In 2014, these nets were everywhere."

Though but a humble volunteer, Yu would call the local fishery department and would not give up until all the nets were removed.

In 2018, when rumors emerged that fishermen would be encouraged to give up fishing, Yu conducted a survey among over 20 fishermen to find out their needs.

"I drafted a proposal accordingly to help the fishermen get all the support they needed. It was then revised and taken to Beijing," said Yu proudly.

In January 2020, the game-changing 10-year fishing ban began in pivotal waters of the Yangtze River, with measures in place to ensure the welfare of 231,000 fishermen who gave up their profession.

"Most of what I wanted for both the fishermen and finless porpoises has come to pass," said Yu. "Many former fishermen joined the river patrols and became guardians of the finless porpoise themselves. They are now on a good path."

Two years after the fishing moratorium was introduced, around 30 finless porpoises, mostly mother porpoises with their cubs, were spotted in the Ganjiang River in Nanchang.

Yu was excited by this rare sight. "I haven't seen so many finless porpoises in the city for years. It means their numbers are increasing," he said.

Despite the improving situation, Yu is still there for the finless porpoise, which was upgraded to a national first-level protected species in 2021.

At Poyang Lake, with seine nets and fishing boats gone, Yu enjoys taking pictures of finless porpoises coming up for air or catching fish.

He still goes on lake patrols, now to drag up discarded nets or check for stranded finless porpoises ashore. Sometimes he visits his former fishermen friends, handing them rubbish bins to put plastic waste in.

In the city, Yu has embraced his new identity as a guest lecturer at schools, where he introduces his "smiling angel", the finless porpoise, to children and tells them about the importance of ecological protection.

Photography remains Yu's passion, but he doesn't know how long he can keep it going.

Since his glaucoma diagnosis a few years ago, Yu has been adjusting to the loss of vision in his right eye. Now shooting photos with just his left eye, Yu is continuing to do what he loves.

There is yet one dream photo Yu would like to take. He hopes, as the environment continues to improve and the fish population grows larger, finless porpoises will swim upstream the Ganjiang River to Tengwang Pavilion, Nanchang's iconic landmark.

"A photo of finless porpoises jumping out of the water, with the pavilion in the background," Yu cracked a wistful smile, adding, "It would be marvelous to behold."