URUMQI-- Chinese aquatic experts have released a batch of artificially bred Bighead fish into a reservoir in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Bighead fish, or big head schizothracin, are an endangered species endemic to the Tarim River in Xinjiang. A total of 42,000 Bighead fish fry were introduced to the Kezir Reservoir on Tuesday.

It is the third consecutive year that a batch of the endangered fish has been released into the reservoir, its major habitat.

Zhu Yueliang, director of the reservoir administration bureau, said the release will play important roles in protecting the reservoir's aquatic biological resources, boosting the fish population in natural waters, and maintaining the ecological balance.

Bighead fish were once abundant in Tarim River, but the species came to the verge of extinction due to harmful human activities such as excessive fishing and ecological environment deterioration. In 1988, the fish was listed as a form of aquatic wildlife under first-class state protection.

To save the endangered fish, Chinese aquatic experts began researching and protecting the fish, and artificial breeding began in 2003.