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  PlanetArk 2 Nov 07
A Third of Freshwater Fish in Europe Under Threat

Yahoo News 1 Nov 07
Group: Freshwater fish faces extinction

Yahoo News 1 Nov 07
One third of Europe's freshwater fish face extinction: IUCN

More than one third of European freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, according to a study released by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) on Thursday.

Twelve of the 522 species are already extinct, mainly due to population growth and the accompanying use of water, pollution and overfishing over the past 100 years, the IUCN said in a statement.

"With 200 fish species in Europe facing a high risk of going extinct we must act now to avoid a tragedy," said IUCN programme officer William Darwall.

"Many of these species, not considered as 'charismatic' or with any apparent 'value' to people, rarely attract the funds needed for their conservation -- they risk disappearing with only a dedicated few noticing the loss," he added.

The IUCN said the biggest single threat comes from water shortages in Mediterranean areas, which are increasingly leading to dried rivers in summer months as climate change progresses.

Endangered species include the European freshwater eel due to overfishing, dams, new parasites and pollution, the IUCN said.

Restoration of the species, which reproduces on average only once every 20 years, is expected to take several generations despite EU fishing restrictions passed this year, the scientific study added.

The extinct species include the houting, which was found in brackish waters of North Sea estuaries until the 1940s. Many species are regarded as important because they are part of a complex ecological chain in some areas.

Irrigation, flood control and power generation have also had major impacts on migratory species in large rivers.

Areas with the highest degree of threat to freshwater species include the lower Danube, the rivers Dniestr, Dniepr, Volga and Ural, much of the Balkan Peninsula, and southwestern Spain, the IUCN said.

PlanetArk 2 Nov 07
A Third of Freshwater Fish in Europe Under Threat

GENEVA - More than a third of freshwater fish species in Europe face extinction due to overfishing, pollution and dams which have caused rivers to dry up, a scientific study said on Thursday.

The continent's 522 freshwater fish species are under a much higher level of threat than birds or mammals, according to the study "Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes", published in collaboration with the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

"With 200 fish species in Europe facing a high risk of going extinct, we must act now to avoid a tragedy," said William Darwall, senior programme officer at IUCN's species programme.

Twelve species are already extinct following a century of development which has had a devastating impact, the study said.

The European eel, which reproduces only once on average at around 20 years, is critically endangered, it said. The number of juvenile eels reaching European coasts has dropped dramatically in the past three decades.

The jarabugo, found in southwestern Spain and Portugal, is also endangered as its population has declined by more than 50 percent in the past 10 years.

"Large dams built for irrigation, flood control and power generation have had major impacts upon species in large rivers and have led to local extinction of numerous migratory species", the Swiss-based IUCN said.

This has led to some rivers drying up in the summer months, a phenomenon which was "becoming more acute with the impacts of climatic changes", it said.

Areas subject to the highest levels of threat include the lower reaches of the rivers Danube, Dniestr, Dniepr, Volga and Ural, the Balkan peninsula and southwestern Spain, it added.

Yahoo News 1 Nov 07
Group: Freshwater fish faces extinction

More than one in three of Europe's freshwater fish species faces extinction because ecosystems are being destroyed, the World Conservation Union said Thursday.

Scientists from Switzerland and Germany have found that 200 of the 522 species of European freshwater fish are threatened by the rapid development of agriculture and industry over the past 100 years, the group said.

The union, a network of nations, agencies and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries, said 12 species are already extinct.

Species at risk include the European eel, the jarabugo in southwestern Spain and Portugal, and several types of fish found only in one place, such as the Lake Ammersee kilch, found only in the lake in Germany.

The group, which is known by the abbreviation IUCN and produces an annual "Red List" of endangered species, said measures to reduce pollution, preserve wetlands, and limit the amount of water extracted from streams and rivers are needed to conserve the fish species.

The research is published in the "Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes," which was funded by the North of England Zoological Society.

On the Net: http://www.iucn.org

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