所内科研主体由农业部淡水鱼类种质资源与生物技术、中国水产科学院淡水生态与健康养殖两个重点开放实验室组成，主要开展水产种质资源保存与遗传育种、濒危水生动物保护、渔业资源调查评估与水域生态环境监测保护、水产养殖基础生物学与养殖技术、鱼类营养与病害防治、水产品质量标准与检测等领域的应用基础和应用技术研究。此外，还有农业部属检测中心、渔业生态环境监测中心、野外科学观测试验站、渔业资源监测站、新渔药临床试验基地、水产种质资源保存与良种选育中心、全国水产标准化技术委员会淡水养殖分技委等公益服务机构依托所内。
拥有高效液相色谱仪、气相色谱仪、质谱仪、程序降温仪、数字鱼探仪等大型仪器设备30多台件。有科学考察船4艘和综合试验基地2个。
五十年来，本所先后承担各类科研项目350多项，获得各类科研成果奖130多项，其中，国家级奖励9项，省、部级奖励64项，获全国科学大会奖的 “鲤鱼杂交一代优势利用的研究”、获国家科技进步奖的“草鱼出血病防治技术研究 ”、“中华鲟物种保护技术研究”、获农业部科技进步奖的“尼罗罗非鱼的引进、养殖及杂种优势的利用”等成果的推广应用都产生了显著的经济效益和社会效益。本所在淡水鱼类基础生物学、资源保护、育种和养殖、营养与饲料、病害防治等方面形成了雄厚的技术积累，所从事的中华鲟、鲥鱼、大鲵、胭脂鱼等濒危水生动物的生物学、资源保护和繁殖等研究多属于开创性研究，其技术方法处于国内外领先水平。
本所现有在职职工141人，其中有科技人员106人。科技人员中有研究员9人，副研究员21人，中级技术职务34人，初级技术职务41人。具有博士学位10人，硕士27人，在读博士5人，政府特殊津贴享受者13人。
分别与华中农业大学、西南大学共建水产养殖学科博士点。与美国、日本等20多个国家的科研和教学机构建立了合作关系。为古巴、孟加拉等10多个国家提供了技术援助。
随着科技体制改革的深化，本所确立了“立足科研、提升创新能力，拓展空间、支撑行业发展”的宗旨，各项工作稳步推进，努力在今后的工作中取得更大的成绩，为国民经济发展作出更大的贡献。
A Brief Introduction of Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute (YRFRI), Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS) was established in Nanjing City , Jiangsu province, in 1958. It undertook the tasks of researches on freshwater fisheries in the Yangtze River valley as well as in the whole country. In 1966, it was moved to Hubei Province , which has always been designated as “a province of a thousand lakes”. It is located in the town proper of Jingzhou City , a historically and culturally famous city in the hinterland of the beautiful and richly endowed Jianghan Plain.
YRFRI is a multi-disciplinary institute, which is devoted to basic research with application significance and applied research on freshwater fishes. Its predominant subjects are now protection of endangered aquatic animals and preservation of their ecology, fish genetics and techniques in fish breeding, fish nutrition and control of fish diseases, techniques in healthy culture and biotechnology, etc. The research agencies are set as follows: The Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Germplasm Resources & Biotechnology to Ministry of Agriculture; Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Ecology & Healthy Culture to Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences; Department of Aquaculture and Fish Genetics & Breeding; Department of Fish Nutrition & Control of Fish Diseases: and Department of Fishery Resources and Environments. Besides, six socio-beneficial service agencies are also set. They are The Supervision, Examination and Testing Center of Freshwater Fish Germplasms to Ministry of Agriculture, General Office of Freshwater Aquaculture Standardization to Bureau of Fisheries to Ministry of Agriculture, Magazine Office of Freshwater Fisheries to China Society of Fisheries, Monitoring Center of Fishery Ecology & Environments in the Middle and Upper Yangtze to Ministry of Agriculture, Monitoring Station of Fishery Resources in the Middle and Upper Yangtze River to Ministry of Agriculture, and Experimental Base for Clinic of New Medicines for Aquatic Animals to Ministry of Agriculture. There are also two experimental bases: one is Fish Selection and Breeding Center to Ministry of Agriculture, and the other is an experimental farm. The former has ponds of about 13.3 hectares, with a greenhouse of 3000 square meters and modernized fry incubation facilities in it, while the latter has ponds of 20 hectares.
YRFRI has now 67 researchers, of which 8 are research fellows, 14 associate research fellows (4 researchers have got doctorate, another 4 researchers are studying for it), and 25 intermediate technical personnel. During the period of 47 years since the establishment, YRFRI has obtained more than 150 scientific achievements in various fields, of which more than 100 have won prizes. Of the 100 prize-winning achievements, 3 have won National Prize for Science & Technology Progress, 4 Prizes at the National Congress of Science, 29 prizes at provincial or ministerial level.
YRFRI has conducted extensive academic exchanges and co-operation researches with Institute of Hydrobiology to Chinese Academy of Sciences, College of Life Sciences to Wuhan University , Shanghai Fisheries University , Huazhong Agricultural University , South-West China Agricultural University , Jianghan University and Yangtze University . It trains graduate students in cooperation with Huazhong Agricultural University , Shanghai Fisheries University , South-West China Agricultural University . It has sent young scientists to the United States , Japan , Australia , Germany and Russia for cooperative research and exchanged visits of scholars with the institutes and universities concerned in these countries. Besides, YRFRI has also sent experts to Algeria , Cuba and Bangladesh to help these aided countries develop fishery production.
