Nearly a third of freshwater fish worldwide face extinction, report warns

Not a single river in England met ‘chemical standards’ for water quality in 2020, Sam Hancock finds

A fly fisherman in the river Darent: of the world’s 224 chalk streams, 161 are in the UK (Getty)

Government ministers are being urged to back an emergency recovery plan for freshwater wildlife, after a report found that almost a third of fish living in the world’s rivers and lakes face extinction.

The “World’s Forgotten Fishes” review – compiled by 16 environmental organisations including WWF – said 30 per cent of 10,336 freshwater fish whose conservation status have been assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are at risk of dying out.

It also pointed out that Britain is “no exception” when it comes to the threats facing freshwater fish species.

Conservationists said the extinction of burbot and sturgeon in the UK, as well as a significant decline in salmon since the 1960s and critically endangered status of European eels, were examples of this.

Wildlife charity WWF said the emergency recovery plan – including measures such as reducing pollution and protecting wetland habitats – falls under new global nature targets set to be negotiated this year.

In the report, leading bodies such as the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) highlight how vital these species are around the world. Not least because they provide the main source of protein for 200 million people across Asia, Africa and South America, jobs and livelihoods for 60 million.

The latest discoveries mean there are now 18,075 known freshwater species, which is 51 per cent of the world’s entire collection of fish species (35,768), ranging from river sharks to 8mm long minnows in Indonesian peat swamps.

But populations of migratory freshwater fish have fallen by more than three quarters (76 per cent) since 1970, with declines of 94 per cent for “mega fish” weighing more than 30kg, while 80 species have been declared extinct.

Much of the decline in the UK is driven by the poor state of habitats. Just 14.6 per cent of rivers in England achieved good ecological status last year, mostly as a result of agricultural pollution, dams and sewage, WWF said in a bleak call to action for the government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Meanwhile, not a single river in England met “chemical standards” for water quality in 2020.

River, lake and wetland habitats around the world are facing threats including habitat destruction, dams on free-flowing rivers, too much water being taken for agriculture, and household, agricultural and industrial pollution.

Fish face a barrage of additional threats such as overfishing, destructive fishing practices, the introduction of invasive non-native species, the impacts of climate change, mining for sand in their habitats and wildlife crime.

Dave Tickner, chief adviser on freshwater at WWF, told the PA news agency: “Freshwater habitats are some of the most vibrant on earth, but – as this report shows – they are in catastrophic decline around the world.

“Nature is in freefall and the UK is no exception: wildlife struggles to survive, let alone thrive, in our polluted waters.”

“If we are to take this government's environmental promises seriously, it must get its act together, clean up our rivers and restore our freshwater habitats to good health.

“That means proper enforcement of existing laws, strengthening protections in the Environment Bill to put UK nature on the path to recovery, and championing a strong set of global targets for recovery of nature, including rivers.”

The report includes a six-point plan, drawn up by a global team of scientists, which aims to tackle the threats that have led to an 83 per cent collapse in freshwater species populations and the loss of 30 per cent of their ecosystem homes since 1970.

It calls for: allowing rivers to flow more naturally; reducing pollution; protecting critical wetland habitats; ending overfishing and unsustainable sand mining in rivers and lakes; controlling invasive species; and safeguarding and restoring river connectivity through better planning of dams and other infrastructure.

Dr Jon Hutton, executive director for global conservation impact at WWF, said the recovery plan was “based on sound science and real experience” and he knew “the measures it contains can work”.

“We can and we must act now. Freshwater fishes, in all their dazzling diversity, have been forgotten for too long. I hope that … we can pull them back from the brink,” he added.