May 22, 2024 — Ahead of World Fish Migration Day on May 25, a new Living Planet Index report has revealed major declines in migratory freshwater fish since 1970. According to the findings, migrating freshwater fish populations have declined 81% from 1970 to 2020.
The Living Planet Index Migratory Freshwater Fishes report focused on data for migrating freshwater fish, or fish that move from one habitat to another for breeding and non-breeding in a seasonal or cyclical pattern. The report was a collaboration among the World Fish Migration Foundation, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Wetlands International and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
On average, the index of 1,864 monitored populations of 284 migratory freshwater fish species from around the world revealed an 81% decline since 1970, leading to an average 3.3% decline per year. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the report noted an average decline of 91%, and Europe’s migratory freshwater fish have declined by about 75%.