Fresh water fish population is under threat of extinction. Study has indicated that the global population of migratory freshwater fish has plunged by 76 percent since 1970. Populations of larger fish species had declined by “catastrophic” 94%.
The reduction of freshwater fish species is as a result overfishing, destructive fishing practices, invasive species, pollution, disruption of river ecologies and climate change. Irrigation and construction of dams was listed as a disruptive habitat that interfered with the existence of freshwater fish.
A report that was published by 16 global conservation organizations, dubbed The World’s Forgotten Fishes indicated that 16 freshwater fish species were declared extinct in 2020. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which was part of the investigative team, revealed that only 15% of UK Rivers had decent ecological status.
WWF further revealed that the leading damage was caused by sewage outflows and farm pollution. In UK waters, the burbot and the sturgeon have disappeared and the salmon is also waning.
“Freshwater habits are some of the most vibrant on earth, but they are in catastrophic decline. The UK is no exception – wildlife struggles to survive, let alone thrive, in our polluted waters,” stated, the WWF chief adviser, Dave Tickner.
The report recommended for the government to enforce existing laws to restore freshwater habitat, strengthen the environment protection bill and set global targets for the reclamation of nature.
In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 455 critically endangered fish species, 643 endangered and 1245 vulnerable.
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