butterflies and 7% of aquatic plants are threatened at the European level. Despite a lack of good trend data for certain countries, the current assessment shows that about 17% of Europe’s freshwater fish species have declining populations, whereas only 1% are on the increase, and 6% are considered stable. For the remaining 76%, the current level of knowledge is insufficient to define their population trends.
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The highest levels of species diversity are found in the lower parts of the rivers draining into the Black and Caspian Seas. However, a number of species with restricted ranges are also encountered in the Alps, in Great Britain and Ireland, and around the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Most of the threatened species are confined to certain areas in southern Europe.
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Most freshwater fishes are in some way affected by pollution of domestic, industrial and agricultural origin. Another primary threat to Europe’s freshwater fishes is habitat loss due to over-abstraction of water. Additional major threats are the introduction of alien species, overfishing (particularly in the larger rivers of Eastern Europe) and a massive increase in the construction of dams, blocking migration and altering stream habitats.
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Conclusions and recommendations ■■
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Freshwater fishes are one of the most highly threatened species groups in Europe. At least 37% of all European species are threatened at a continental scale, and 39% are threatened at the EU 27 level. Of all assessed species groups, this level of threat is second only to the one for freshwater molluscs. The conservation status of Europe’s eight sturgeon species is particularly worrying: all but one are Critically Endangered. There is an ongoing extinction crisis affecting Europe’s freshwater fishes. At least 13 species are now globally Extinct. Five additional species are Possibly Extinct, but the information is currently inadequate to certify their extinction. Furthermore, several freshwater fish species are currently under immediate threat of extinction, amongst them several species of sturgeons, and certain species of the Mediterranean river basins. The high overall threat level of Europe’s freshwater fishes is an indicator for the exceptional vulnerability of Europe’s freshwater habitats, and of their poor state of protection. The main threats to Europe’s
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freshwater fishes are pollution, habitat loss due to over-abstraction of water, and the introduction of alien species. Alien species introduction, especially where these are of European origin, is almost totally uncontrolled. The main vectors of alien species introduction are recreational fisheries and the connection of formerly separate river basins by manmade canals. An increased frequency and intensity of droughts is already impacting freshwater systems and the species that rely on them, especially in the Mediterranean region. The predicted impact of climate change is likely to worsen the situation in the future. While many freshwater fishes are protected under national legislation or under the EU Habitats Directive, the majority of threatened species still remain unprotected. Furthermore, where legal protection does exist, it often remains ineffective against threats such as alien species introduction or water abstraction. In order to improve the conservation status of European freshwater fishes and to reverse their decline, ambitious conservation actions are urgently needed. In particular: ensuring adequate protection and management of key freshwater habitats and of their surrounding areas, drawing up and implementing Species Action Plans for the most threatened species, establishing monitoring and ex-situ programmes, finding appropriate means to limit further alien species introductions, especially by anglers, and revising national and European legislation, adding species identified as threatened where needed. The identification, establishment and management of a network of Freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas in Europe is urgently needed. This project contributes to improving and updating the coverage of fishes on the global IUCN Red List, thanks to the assessment of endemic European freshwater fishes.
The largest of all sturgeon, the beluga, Huso huso, has formerly been the basis of an important commercial fishery. As a result of overfishing, and the creation of dams preventing it from reaching its spawning sites, this species has suffered a more than 90% population decline and is now assessed as Critically Endangered. Photo © A. Hartl.
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