Extinction risk in Australia's freshwater fisheries

31/05/2025

Adding to the research impact of the Research Centre, our Science Program Manager Nick Whiterod recently co-authored a publication highlighting the extinction risk in Australia’s freshwater fishes. The study, relying on the input from over 50 national experts, found 37% of all freshwater fish species in Australia are at risk of extinction.

“This is a wakeup call, and it is clear that much greater conservation effort is needed to prevent the extinction of fish species” emphasised Nick.

The study identified invasive species as key threat and highlighted that climate change impacts are intensifying and imposing extreme risk on habitats and species. A range of conservation actions were identified with appropriate allocation of resources and funding imperative.

More information can be found in the video above, the factsheet, The Conservation article and the publication.