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Report shows dire state of Mekong’s fish — but damage can still be undone

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The threatened fish of the Mekong River are inching closer extinction, according to a new report that cites piling pressures on the waterway. Though the situation is serious, conservationists say it’s not too late to turn the tide for the river’s freshwater species. The nearly 5,000-kilometer (3,000-mile) Mekong supports millions of people across six countries, from its headwaters in China to its delta in Vietnam. The river, a key vein in mainland Southeast Asia, faces a rising tide of threats, from unsustainable fishing and invasive species, to hydropower dams and sand mining, all compounded by climate change. Nearly a fifth of the known fish species in the river are threatened to some degree with extinction, according to a recently release report, “The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes.” The report was compiled by 25 organizations, including conservation NGOs WWF and Conservation International, and the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, which is responsible for the Red List of Threatened Species. A view of the Mekong River as the border between Thailand and Laos. Image by Anton L. Delgado. The report used a threat calculation based on the risk assessments in the Red List. The calculation found that 19% of the nearly 400 assessed Mekong River fish species are threatened with extinction. But the report noted that 40% of the species that underwent risk assessments are considered “data deficient” on the Red List, which means not enough is known about them to determine just how threatened they are. In light of this, the report…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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