NORTH America鈥檚 freshwater fish are in trouble 鈥� and we should have seen it coming.
A report commissioned by the American Fisheries Society has warned that the number of North American freshwater species in danger of extinction in at least part of their range has nearly doubled since 1989. As well as this, 33 per cent of fish have seen their conservation status grow more dire, while only 6 per cent have seen an improvement ().
Habitat loss due to humanity鈥檚 growing thirst for water is the root cause of the problem, says Noel Burkhead from the US Geological Survey in Gainesville, Florida, and one of the report鈥檚 lead authors.
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Fish are not the first to feel the squeeze. Many freshwater mussel and snail species have previously become endangered for the same reasons, but the warning was ignored. 鈥淭he pattern we observed in snails and mussels is now being observed in fishes,鈥� Burkhead says. 鈥淯nless we somehow change the way we interact with the landscape, fish extinctions are going to dramatically increase.鈥�
Endangered species 鈥� Learn more about the conservation battle in our comprehensive special report.
