A seven year study has shown that nearly 40 per cent of freshwater fish in Britain and Europe face extinction and during the research 12 species have become extinct. The research, carried out with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) was carried out by Maurice Kottelat, a former president of the European Ichthyological Society, and Jörg Freyhof, of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology in Germany. The survey found that out of the 58 freshwater species found in Britain, 22 are under threat of extinction, including the golden charr and gwyniad. Species described as ’critically endangered’ include jarabugos in Spain and Portugal, and gizani in Greece. The study also looked at eels, which are categorised as ‘critically endangered’ after their numbers have decreased by about 95% since 1980.
Changes in water temperature, volume and composition, partly due to climate change and human activity. ‘Freshwater fish stocks across Europe have plummeted primarily because so much water has been diverted for human use, leaving many rivers and streams dry for much of the year. Pollution, overfishing and the introduction of alien species and diseases wreaked further havoc on fish populations over the past century’.
The researchers were shocked at just how dire the situation seemed to be. William Darwell of the (IUCN) claims “The freshwater ecosystem is probably more threatened than any of the others” and that action must be taken immediately before the effects are irreversible. They think fish should be valued as an ecological asset rather than an economic or agricultural crop.
Source http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2789667.ece (November 2nd 2007)
