The World's Forgotten Fishes - 17

Main © A.Cambone, R.Isotti / Homo ambiens, insets p47

CHAPTER THREE
Healthy freshwater ecosystems are
essential to sustain thriving populations
of freshwater fishes. But widespread
ignorance of the wealth of freshwater
fishes has blinded us to just how critical
they are to the health of the world's rivers,
lakes and wetlands.
Fishes are the dominant organisms in most
freshwater ecosystems in terms of biomass
and feeding ecology14. With their vital role
as scavengers, predators and prey, they
play a regulatory and foundational function
within an ecosystem and are central to
the natural balance. Take for example, the
importance of Alaska's salmon runs in
fattening up bears ahead of hibernation and
transporting essential nutrients from the
sea to nourish riparian woodlands. Or the
major role fishes play in dispersing the seeds
of tropical floodplain trees in the Amazon15.
Or migratory fishes of the Mekong whose
seasonal journeys provide an impetus for
movements of the river's top predator -
the Irrawaddy river dolphin.
When we tip the scales by drastically
reducing freshwater fish populations
and speeding a third of species towards
extinction, we undermine the functioning of
many of the world's freshwater ecosystems
- our very life support systems. Two billion
people currently source their drinking water
directly from rivers, which also irrigate
190 million hectares, accounting for about
a quarter of total global food production16.
Healthy freshwater ecosystems are also
critical to the fight against climate change.
Peatlands, for example, store twice as
much carbon as the world's forests, while
functioning floodplains reduce the impact
of extreme floods.
But the diverse benefits of healthy
freshwater ecosystems continue to be
undervalued and overlooked - until they are
gone. Unfortunately, they're disappearing at
a shocking rate. We've lost 35 per cent of the
world's remaining wetlands in the past 50
years17. Only a third of rivers over 1000km
still flow freely from source to sea18. Just
40 per cent of Europe's waters are classified
as in good ecological health19.
The decline in freshwater fish populations
is the clearest indicator of the damage we
have done - and are still doing - to our
rivers, lakes and wetlands. And that collapse
only exacerbates the crisis. Freshwater
fishes need healthy freshwater ecosystems.
And so do people. But we're losing them
both far too fast.
The World's Forgotten Fishes page 17
The World's Forgotten Fishes

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