{"id":27238,"date":"2025-01-21T18:15:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T18:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/?p=27238"},"modified":"2025-10-25T14:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T14:02:59","slug":"freshwater-species-are-at-risk-salmon-strongholds-can-help-reverse-the-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2025\/01\/21\/freshwater-species-are-at-risk-salmon-strongholds-can-help-reverse-the-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"Freshwater species are at risk. Salmon strongholds can help reverse the decline."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Nature<\/em>, Wild Salmon Center Science Director Dr. Matthew Sloat joins 45 leading scientists to interpret the first-ever IUCN global freshwater threat assessment.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A new scientific threat assessment<\/a> of the world\u2019s freshwater fauna is out, and its findings are startling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria and data, 45 leading scientists find that one quarter of the 23,496 species analyzed\u2014the most comprehensive assessment of <\/strong>IUCN Red List<\/strong><\/a> threatened freshwater species\u2014are at risk of extinction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the world’s most rigorous global assessment to date of extinction risk for freshwater species,\u201d says Dr. Matthew Sloat, Wild Salmon Center Science Director and co-author of the paper<\/a>, published January 8 in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature<\/em>. \u201cThe results signal an alarming level of stress to the rivers and streams that sustain us all. But our paper also shows a path towards conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur paper signals an alarming level of stress to the rivers and streams that sustain us all. But it also shows a path towards conservation.\u201d<\/p>\nWild Salmon Center Science Director Dr. Matthew Sloat<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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A new paper in Nature<\/em><\/a> finds that a quarter of freshwater species are at risk of extinction. Coauthor Dr. Matthew Sloat, Wild Salmon Center Science Director, says that protecting still-healthy salmon river systems could help us get ahead of the extinction curve. (Photo: Dr. Sloat in Mongolia with a taimen<\/a>: a freshwater salmonid that ranks among the world’s largest. Courtesy Dr. Sloat.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From aquatic insects to wild fish, the paper finds that leading threats to freshwater species and their global diversity include habitat loss through development and dam building, as well as overfishing<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while the paper\u2019s findings are indeed dire, Dr. Sloat notes that he and his coauthors also identified areas with healthy watersheds that harbor abundant and diverse freshwater species.  If we can conserve these intact ecosystems before they are degraded, he says, that could help us get ahead of the extinction curve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This proactive approach is the foundation of Wild Salmon Center\u2019s salmon stronghold strategy<\/a>, which focuses on protecting relatively healthy salmon ecosystems across the Pacific Rim. Protecting healthy systems such as Bristol Bay, Alaska<\/a>, the Skeena River region<\/a> in British Columbia, and the coastal rainforest rivers of Washington\u2019s Olympic Peninsula<\/a>, provides benefits that extend well beyond salmon. <\/p>\n\n\n

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River otters are one of many species that rely on salmon. PC: Ken Morrish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Research<\/a> shows that when Pacific salmon do well, the benefits also flow to at least 137 other marine and freshwater species<\/strong>, including sea eagles, otters, bears, and orcas. If we can ensure the overall success of keystone species like salmon, we\u2019ll be helping to improve the survival outlook for countless other species\u2014as well as the human communities they support<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA comprehensive strategy to protect freshwater species must both proactively protect the world\u2019s healthy river systems and pay urgent attention to its most threatened places,\u201d Dr. Sloat says. \u201cThis new paper can catalyze that work, by identifying places with high species extinction risk, as well as global biodiversity strongholds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA comprehensive strategy to protect freshwater species must both protect the world\u2019s healthy river systems and pay urgent attention to its most threatened places. This new paper can catalyze that work.\u201d<\/p>\nWild Salmon Center Science Director Dr. Matthew Sloat<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Members of J Pod, an endangered population of Southern Resident Killer Whales, play in the Salish Sea off Vancouver Island, Canada. Spring Chinook salmon are a primary food source for J-Pod orcas, making salmon conservation a key element of efforts to help J Pod recover. (PC: Alamy.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>

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