AMARGOSA VALLEY, Nevada – Agency biologists are excited to report increased numbers of one of the world’s rarest fishes. Scientists counted 191 Devils Hole pupfish, which is the most fish observed during annual spring season counts in 25 years. This is good news for the critically endangered fish living in Death Valley National Park.
Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) live in the smallest habitat of any vertebrate species on the planet. Devils Hole is a deep, water-filled cavern located near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County, Nevada. The fish live in the upper 80 feet of the cave and depend on the11-foot by 16-feet sun-lit shallow shelf at the cavern’s entrance for food and spawning.
FFSG is proud to have supported the delivery of the new Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes Report. Led by FFSG Co-Chair Kathy Hughes (FFSG Co-Chair), with support from Chavalit Vidthayanon (FFSG South-east Asia Chair), Catherine Sayer (FFSG Biodiversity Adviser) and Zeb Hogan (FFSG member).
The Mekong is a global hotspot for freshwater fishes, with over 1200 recognised fish species. The report found that 19% of the Mekong’s diverse and unique freshwater fishes are threatened with extinction. The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes report is supported by a coalition of 25 organisations and sets how we can deliver a Freshwater Biodiversity Emergency Recovery Plan to conserve them.
FFSG is proud to have supported this fantastic new species report from Shoal:
There are some fantastic stories of amazing fishes in this year’s edition, including a fish named after a Hobbit that went on an ‘unexpected journey’, the world’s largest cavefish, and an incredible seven species described from Central European lakes!
On the heels of the news that 25% of freshwater fish are at risk of extinction, a team of ichthyologists in Türkiye (Turkey) has rediscovered hope in the shape of a carp-like, spotted fish — the leopard barbel (Luciobarbus subquincunciatus) — in the Turkish section of the Tigris River. The species, which was last scientifically documented in 2011, is the second species on SHOAL and Re:wild’sMost Wanted Lost Fishes list to be rediscovered. The first, the Batman River loach, was found by the same intrepid team in Southeastern Türkiye in late 2021.
Today IUCN announces the completion of the first comprehensive assessment of the world’s freshwater fish species, revealing that 25% (3,086 out of 14,898 assessed species) are at risk of extinction. At least 17% of threatened freshwater fish species are affected by climate change, including decreasing water levels, rising sea levels causing seawater to move up rivers, and shifting seasons. This compounds threats from pollution, which impacts 57% of freshwater fish species at risk of extinction, dams and water extraction, which affect 45%, overfishing, which threatens 25%, and invasive species and disease, which harm 33%. For example, the large-toothed Lake Turkana robber (Brycinus ferox) – an economically important species in Kenya – has moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, due to overfishing, climate-change driven habitat degradation and dams reducing freshwater entering the lake. Read more here
Thanks to the support of FFSG members, FFSG we are delighted to share the first FFSG Newsletter in several years. If you are interested in news about freshwater fish conservation and science, please see here: https://freshwaterfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FFSG-Newsletter-2023-Issue-1.pdf and keep an eye on this page for the next FFSG Newsletter planned for Spring 2024
FFSG are proud to announce that FFSG South Asia Regional Chair and Red List Coordinator (Asia and Oceania) Professor Rajeev Raghavan was awarded the Fisheries Society of the British Isles Medal this year to recognise his exceptional advances in the study of fish biology, the first year that the medal was awarded to someone from the Asian continent. Rajeev is Assistant Professor at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies where he has discovered 23 new fish species, including the now famous Gollum snakehead, Aenigmachanna gollum. Rajeev has been an invaluable contributor to FFSG since he joined in 2009 and took over as the South Asia Chair in 2012, a position he has maintained since. Rajeev has been an invaluable contributor to FFSG for more than twelve years and we congratulate him on his well-deserved FSBI Medal. The Indian Express has recently published a fantastic article about Rajeev’s work which you can read here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2023/oct/26/if-asked-to-name-ten-native-fish-species-students-would-be-stumped-professorrajeev-raghavan-2626958.html
A new paper has just been published in Aquatic Conservation by Andy D. Nunn, Rachel F. Ainsworth, Silas Walton, Colin W. Bean, Tristan W. Hatton-Ellis, Andy Brown, Rob Evans, Allison Atterborne, Dave Ottewell, Richard A.A. Noble
Nunn, A.D., Ainsworth, R.F., Walton, S., Bean, C.W., Hatton-Ellis, T.W., Brown, A. et al. (2023). Extinction risks and threats facing the freshwater fishes of Britain. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.40140
Abstract:
Extinctions occur naturally in all environments, but rates have accelerated rapidly during the Anthropocene, especially in fresh water. Despite supporting many fish species of conservation importance, there has never been a formal assessment of their extinction risks in Britain, which has impeded their inclusion in relevant legislation and policy. This study therefore used the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™ Categories and Criteria to conduct the first systematic assessment of the extinction risks and threats facing the native freshwater and diadromous fishes of Britain. In addition, national assessments were produced for England, Scotland and Wales, reflecting the level at which environmental policy decisions are taken in Britain.
Seven species were categorized as being threatened with extinction at the regional level, with European eel Anguilla anguilla and allis shad Alosa alosa classified as Critically Endangered, Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, vendace Coregonus albula and European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus classified as Endangered, and Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus and twaite shad Alosa fallax classified as Vulnerable. In addition, burbot Lota lota was classified as Regionally Extinct, ferox trout Salmo ferox was categorized as Data Deficient, and 25 species were categorized as Least Concern. European sturgeon Acipenser sturio and houting Coregonus oxyrinchus, although probably native, qualified as only vagrants in fresh water, so were categorized as Not Applicable.
The assessments provide objective baselines against which future changes can be determined, and a key evidence base to support policy and management decisions for the conservation of freshwater and diadromous fish species and their habitats in Britain. It is recommended that the assessments are repeated every 10 years, which would enable changes in conservation status, the effectiveness of policies and where targeted interventions may be required to be examined using the Red List Index.
We’re working on a new website for the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group. You will see it change gradually from a site apparently about cakes to one about fish – we do not intend to make fishcakes!
