Chair

Richard Sneider (1)

Red List Authority Coordinators

Jörg Freyhof (2)

Rajeev Raghavan (3)

Location/Affiliation(1) One World Star Holdings International LTD (OSI), Los Angeles, US(2) Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany(3) Conservation Research Group, St. Albert’s College, Kochi, India

Number of members

163

Social networks

Facebook:Freshwater Fish Specialist GroupWebsite: www.iucnffsg.org

WI-IUCN SSC

Freshwater Fish

Specialist Group

Richard Sneider

2016-2017 Report

Mission statement

To achieve conservation and sustainable use of freshwater fishes and their habitats through: (1) generating and disseminating sound scientific knowledge, (2) creating widespread awareness of their values, and (3) influencing decision-making processes at all levels.

Main activities by Key Priority Area

(2016 & 2017)

Capacity building

L Proposal development and funding

i. US$ 1,400 were raised at the North East Council (NEC) of Aquarium Societies 41st Annual Convention in April 2016. This will be used to support a Congolese student to work on a review of possible options for a sustainable aquarium fish trade from the Congo, using Project Piaba as a model. (KSR #30)

L Synergy

i. Synergy with a proposed new freshwater initiative, ‘Shoal’ supported by Synchronicity Earth. Following a planning meeting for the initiative, Shoal, hosted by the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, in October 2017, a core team of 18 experts developed a Vision and Mission Statement and a document of Terms of Reference. IGB has plans for a follow-up workshop in 2018. (KSR #29)

ii. Scott Dowd (Chair, Home Aquarium Fish Sub-group), working with global chair Richard Snei-der, is leading in identifying opportunities for collaboration with public aquaria. A presenta-tion was given at the Annual Meeting of the Eu-ropean Union of Aquarium Curators at Arnhem,

Netherlands (in collaboration with Ian Harrison (FFSG), Kira Mileham (Director of IUCN SSC’s Strategic Partnerships) and Will Darwall (Manag-er of IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Unit). The talk discussed opportunities where European aquarium staff can help secure the conserva-tion of freshwater fish species, and raise aware-ness of freshwater species and habitats. (KSR #29)

Communications

L Communication

i. Assisted the Anguillid Eel SG in preparing a motion on ‘Promotion of Anguillid eels as flagship species for aquatic conservation’, which was accepted as IUCN Recommendation WCC-2016-Rec-099-EN. (KSR #21)

ii. FFSG was one of the collaborating partners on the 2016 World Fish Migration Day (WFMD), which included events at 450 locations, in 63 countries around the world, with 2,000 organizations involved, and an estimated 82,000 visitors to the events and a total of 70 million people reached worldwide. Overall, 92% of participants regarded their events as being a great success. (KSR #28)

iii. During 2016, an additional 806 observations were added to the Global Freshwater BioBlitz, bringing the total to 3,558 observations. The number of new observations added to BioBlitz has slowly declined and we should look for ways to promote the BioBlitz as part of our other activities. (KSR #28)

L Scientific meetings

i. Contributed to 14 sessions at the World Congress; several of these contributed to the planning of additional activities (e.g., develop-ment of the Alliance for Freshwater Life; development of a One Programme for Freshwa-ter Conservation, for the IUCN, discussed below; and planning for WFMD).

ii. Contributed to a late on the need for an IUCN One Programme Strategy for Freshwater Biodiversity; this motion was not accepted, but a recommendation was made for the summary points to be included in IUCN’s Programme of Work.

Conservation action

L Conservation activities

i. FFSG members contributed to projects focused on: (1) mobilising freshwater biodiversi-ty information for better representation within protected areas in Madagascar (2015-2017); (2) a critical sites network for freshwater biodiversi-ty in the Lake Victoria catchment: building a blueprint for species conservation, protected areas, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods (2015-2017); (3) assessment of the condition of freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem services in the tropical Andes

watersheds (2013-2016); (4) Sundaic Freshwater Fish Red List Workshop Fund (WRSCF), brought together local and international experts to prepare to assess species in the Sunda region according to IUCN guidelines, and to propose future conservation plans for vulnerable species; (5) Red List assessments of freshwater fishes of Southern Africa (2017). (KSR #27)

ii. Working with aquarium fish traders to explore methods for sustainable wild capture fishery to support livelihoods and habitat protection. (KSR #37)

iii. FFSG collaborated with other SSC and WCPA Specialist Groups and Sub-committees and gave recommendations to the Rainforest Trust for several areas that would be priorities to be developed as freshwater protected areas. FFSG provided Global Wildlife Conservation with advice on freshwater fish targets species for their project focused on ‘The Search for Lost Species’. FFSG provided colleagues in Japan with advice that helped in the decision to relocate a sports stadium that was planned for development of one of the few remaining habitats for the Kissing Loach, Parabotia curtus. (KSR #18)

iv. The IUCN One Programme for Freshwater has been developed as a practical action that can develop the concepts raised in the late motion to IUCN Congress in 2016. The IUCN One Programme Strategy for Freshwater Biodiversity

Conservation will raise the urgency of freshwa-ter biodiversity conservation and motivate coordinated action among Members, Commis-sions and Secretariat to address critical threats. Through a workshop held in 2017, 19 experts identified four main outcomes that should be the focus of the One Programme Strategy. (KSR #15)

v. In 2015, FFSG collaborated with the Invasive Species Specialist Group on a session at the SSC Leaders’ Meeting to identify opportunities for developing projects focused on freshwater invasive species. We have not made major progress since then, until late 2017, when we started a dialogue with Bernie Tershy (Island Conservation; an international organisation focused on invasive species eradications, https://www.islandconservation.org/), who is interested in starting an initiative focused on addressing the problems of freshwater invasive species. (KSR #31)

L Proposal development and funding

i. FFSG Secretariat continues to approach potential funders for support; e.g., a proposal submitted to JRS Foundation in 2017. Also in 2017, FFSG Global Chair convened a meeting with leaders of over 40 Chinese philanthropic organisations, with IUCN’s Global Protected Area Programme, IUCN’s US office and Conservation International. (KSR #19)

Richard Sneider diving the Okavango source lakes in Angola Photo: Rainer Von Brandis

The goonch, Bagarius yarrelli, with FFSG member Zeb Hogan underwater Courtesy Zeb Hogan

L Research activities

i. The objective was to review the distribution and conservation status of migratory species of fishes, map migration pathways and evaluate the effect of planned dams on these pathways. We looked for funding to support the project but were unable to obtain any. We will continue to pursue this target in 2017-2020. (KSR #32)

Increasing diversity of SSC

L Membership

i. We have reviewed the membership of FFSG and focused on an active membership that is geographically and thematically diverse, that can help FFSG address some of its focal activities for the 2017-2020 quadrennium.

Acknowledgements

Project Piaba provides IT support for FFSG’s website. The following organisations supported workshops and training for Red List assess-ments: Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, and the National University of Singapore. Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, supported a workshop and planning activities for the Alliance for Freshwater Life project. Support for FFSG members to attend meetings was provided by FFSG Chair Richard Sneider, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, IUCN Water, North East Council of Aquarium Societies (US), Wetlands International, World Fish Migration Foundation and FFSG Steering Committee member Zeb Hogan.

Targets for the quadrennium 2017-2020

Barometer of life

Red List: complete Red List assessments of all freshwater fishes (ca. 15,000 species).

Research activities: (1) expand taxonomic, geographic and ecosystem coverage of freshwater fishes included in World Wildlife Fund’s Freshwater Living Planet Index (FLPI); (2) review the conservation status of migratory fishes relative to dam development.

Capacity building

Synergy: be a key partner in developing the new initiatives, Shoal, and the Alliance for Freshwa-ter Life (AFL).

Communications

Communication: (1) implement World Fish Migration Day (WFMD) for 2018 and 2020; (2) contribute to the Stockholm World Water Week (SWWW) 2018.

Conservation action

Conservation activities: (1) develop programs on the sustainable, wild-caught fishery, for aquarium fishes; with initial focus in Amazon and Congo; (2) develop projects and collabora-tions focused on freshwater invasive species; (3) promote the objectives of the IUCN Recommendation WCC-2016-Rec-099-EN: ‘Promotion of Anguillid eels as flagship species for aquatic conservation’.

Synergy: (1) be a key partner in a new initiative/NGO – Shoal – focused on fundraising for fresh-water biodiversity conservation; (2) be a key partner in developing the IUCN One Programme for Freshwater Biodiversity.

Policy

Policy advice: (1) review of relationships between freshwater biodiversity conservation and inland fisheries; (2) application of the IUCN Guidelines document on recreational fisheries.

Projected impact for the quadrennium

2017-2020

By 2020, we envision that we can provide stronger recommendations for freshwater conservation priorities, in terms of which species and regions require most urgent action, and how to link conservation action between regions through habitat connectivity. We can achieve this through mobilizing the newly assimilated Red List assessment data for application to management and policy. Conservation action will be directed at selected, leading threats to freshwater ecosystems; in particular, invasive species and fragmentation of habits by dams. By working with partners such as the WCPA Freshwater Specialist group, we can provide guidance for better conserva-tion of freshwater ecosystems in protected areas. By facilitating communication and collaboration between SSC Specialist Groups with a freshwater interest, and by linking this to the work of other IUCN Commissions and the Secretariat, as well as contributing to other major freshwater initiatives beyond IUCN, we will ensure that future freshwater conservation planning is more fully integrated across IUCN’s programs. Conservation of freshwater species and habitats will be given a higher profile as a core component in wider landscape manage-ment, conservation and policy-making. Freshwater conservation initiatives will be better coordinated to complement each other, rather than operating in parallel.

Summary of activities (2016-2017)

Key Priority Area ratio: 4/7

Key Priority Areas addressed:

• Capacity building (3 activities)

• Communications (5 activities)

• Conservation action (7 activities)

• Increasing diversity of SSC (1 activity)

Main KSRs addressed: 15, 18, 19, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37

Resolutions 2016 WCC: 099 KSR: Key Species Result

FFSG members and representatives from several international organizations at a planning meeting in 2017 for a new international initiative, The Alliance for Freshwater Life Courtesy Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin