World Endangered Species Day: what about freshwater fish?

World Endangered Species Day, celebrated every year on May 11, aims to raise awareness of the scale of the biodiversity crisis and mobilize public authorities, civil society players and the general public to protect species in danger of extinction. It is based in particular on data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, an international scientific reference.

Laurent Duclos Published on May 11, 2026

An alarming fact

In the 2025 edition of the Global Red List, out of 172,620 species assessed, 48,646 are classified as threatened, i.e. around 28% of the total analyzed. These figures cover fish, amphibians and birds, as well as plants and trees, an increasing proportion of which are now recognized as being in danger of extinction.

Specific features of freshwater fish

In France, the Red List of Threatened Species highlights that 19% of freshwater fish are threatened with extinction. Migratory species (trout, salmon, shad, eels, etc.) are particularly hard hit by river fragmentation, dams, poorly designed canals and habitat degradation.

Les barrages ont une incidence sur le comportement des poissons. — Dams have an impact on fish behavior.

Role of fishermen and associations

Recreational fishing associations play an active role in preserving biodiversity by maintaining and restoring riverbanks, restoring ecological continuity (fishways, weir reconfigurations), and scientific monitoring (catchesâeurosmarquageâeurosrecapture, population indexes, restocking monitoring).

These actions, coupled with awareness-raising campaigns and more responsible harvesting management, are helping to halt the decline in many at-risk species.