New book: Threatened Freshwater Fishes of the Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot: Distribution, extinction risk and the impact of hydropower

Inspire4Nature scientists Matt Ford and Jörg Freyhof are co-authors of a book entitled Threatened Freshwater Fishes of the Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot: Distribution, extinction risk and the impact of hydropower.

This report presents detailed range maps for all 251 freshwater fish species presently recognised as threatened in the Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot alongside an updated evaluation of their respective extinction risks. The results suggest that an alarming 63% of all threatened freshwater fish species have already been driven closer to extinction by existing hydropower plants, with 55% of all Critically Endangered species highly impacted.

It is hoped that this report will help inform nature conservation, governments and policy-makers to make the right political, financial and consumer choices to reverse the trend of freshwater biodiversity decline throughout the Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot.

You can have full access to the book here.

Freyhof, J., Bergner, L. & Ford, M. (2020) Threatened Freshwater Fishes of the Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot: Distribution, extinction risk and the impact of hydropower. EuroNatur and RiverWatch. i-viii + 1-348. https://doi.org/10.7479/c6d4-2f73.

Cover picture: European eel (Anguilla anguilla) © Jack Perks Photography