The SHOAL is the global ecosystem of partners and collaborators who work together to safeguard the health of Earth's freshwater habitats and conserve the most threatened freshwater species. As with a shoal of fish, the strength of the SHOAL lies with the number of partners all working together.
Blueprint for Conservation Action for 1,000 Freshwater Fishes
SHOAL's flagship initiative sets out a plan for how significant collaborative conservation effort can lift freshwater fishes and potentially thousands of other neglected freshwater species to a new elevated platform of conservation attention and greatly enhance freshwater conservation efforts globally.
Our partners have produced a new film about the Search for the Fat Catfish.
Dive into Lake Tota on the Search for the Fat Catfish
Colombia’s fat catfish is one of freshwater’s great mysteries. Not seen since 1957, there are more layers of intrigue surrounding this creature than it has rings of fatty tissue – i.e. a LOT!
Firstly, nobody knows why it has that strange physiology: why is it fat? Could it be from overeating? Or a way to stay warm in the cold mountain waters of Colombia’s Páramo? It could be something else entirely, but with only 10 preserved specimens in the world, and no live sightings of the species for more than 70 years, it is incredibly challenging to know.
And what happened to the species? It was allegedly once so common that people living near Lake Tota used the grease from the fish to light their homes. Yet the species seems to have disappeared without trace. Nobody knows why. Through SHOAL’s Search for the Fat Catfish with partners from Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos at Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad De Los Andes, and Re:wild, we attempt to find answers to some of these questions. Using eDNA metabarcoding and more traditional search techniques, our partners are working to put pieces of the puzzle together and give us some clues about the fat catfish.
We can bring the Denison’s barb back from the brink (film)
Watch our film to see how together we can stop the Denison's barb from going extinct in the wild.
Meet the Denison’s barb
The Denison’s barb is one of the world’s most popular home aquarium fish, and can be found in living rooms from California to Kolkata.
Their striking colours and peaceful nature have put them in high demand for both beginners and expert fishkeepers. But it’s not their popularity that has led to wild populations becoming endangered.
What threats are they facing?
Sand-mining and pollution are causing damage to the fish’s habitat in India’s Western Ghats. The species’ home is under threat.
If we don’t take urgent action to protect and restore the damaged areas, this striking fish could go extinct in the wild in just a few years.
We need your help.
Credit: Usha Ravindra
What can we do to help?
With your support, SHOAL and our partners Zoo Outreach, can help bring the Denison’s barb back from the brink.
We can raise awareness with the public and government officials in India
We can train staff in five airports to recognise the species and monitor the number of fishes leaving for export
We can protect the most crucial habitats, providing security, not just for the barb, but for the many other rare and threatened fishes that live in the area
Together we can make a difference.
Every single donation will help give the species a better shot at survival. Donate today at shoalconservation.org.
This film has been created for our Save Denise’s Friends campaign, in support of the Denison’s barb. The campaign is part of SOS: Support Our SHOAL, an innovative approach to freshwater conservation led in partnership with the aquarium hobby and guidance from OATA and Practical Fishkeeping.
SOS: Support our SHOAL empowers individuals and businesses from the aquarist community who want to know how they can help ensure the futures of the species they love. We have loads of resources on our website for everyone from aquarium shops to hobbyists.
Post Overview
Michael Edmondstone
November 11th 2022
Fundraising, Save Denise's Friends, Stories
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Recent News
One quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction – IUCN Red List
Shoal sponsored freshwater fish becomes world’s second #NatureCollectible or “digital species”
The darkedged splitfin Girardinichthys multiradiatus, an endemic and Endangered fish found in Mexico, was launched as the world’s second #NatureCollectible or NFTC (non-fungible token for Conservation) at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on September 7th 2021.
It will join the Seychelles magpie robin as a new digital species collectible sold on a zero-carbon blockchain infrastructure. All funds from the sale will go to Shoal as the conservation actor for the conservation of the species. The splitfin will be part of the #NatureCollectibles portfolio that has been developed as an innovative form of revenue generation for highly threatened species that need urgent funding and conservation action.
darkedged splitfin NFT
The initiative was created by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s ‘Green List Exchange’ and the Porini Foundation, alongside Nature Seychelles. Shoal has now joined as a partner. The tokens have been minted by the Porini Foundation, a Swiss based NGO on a carbon-free blockchain. This is a major breakthrough in terms of negating the high energy consumption of prior blockchain technology. Tokens are selling from USD 20 – USD 1,000 and can be easily purchased through a dedicated mobile application. It is hoped that the initial sale of the fish will raise USD 10,000 for its conservation in Mexico.
The darkedged splitfin is restricted to a small area of Mexico, and the conservation for the species is concentrated in the beautiful mountainous Zempoala Lagoons National Park, Mexico. The splitfins – or Goodeid – fishes are one of the most threatened group of species in the world. Some are extinct in the wild, and some like the tequila splitfin have been saved from the edge of the extinction through captive breeding and release. Many of the species are confined to a few small ponds and streams in desert areas of Mexico.
Conservation work in Zempoala Lagoons National Park, Mexico
All raised funds will be passed onto the Ichthyology Centre at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos in Mexico: the leaders on the conservation of this fish and many other threatened fishes.
The head of the conservation programme, Prof. Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath, said: “The dark-edged splitfin lives in one of the most densely populated regions of the world, with about 45 million people. Its range has been contracting since the 1990s, mainly due to pollution and invasive species. Even though the lakes of Zempoala National Park are not free of human impacts, they sustain four relatively healthy populations of the darkedged splitfin, that with some support, and a bit more local involvement, could be transformed into a freshwater sanctuary that will allow its long-term conservation”.
He adds: “Funds for fish conservation are always hard to find and so we welcome any excellent innovations such as #NatureCollectibles that may provide new sources of funds for neglected but highly threatened species”.
G_multiradiatus
Buyers of the darkedged splitfin will benefit by knowing that they have one of the earliest #NatureCollectibles. Not only might this become valuable, but they have also made a carbon-free contribution to conservation and helped a species from extinction.
Mike Baltzer, Shoal’s executive director, said: “We are delighted that the IUCN and Porini Foundation team has chosen a freshwater fish for this exciting innovation. We need every help we can get to raise the profile of freshwater fish and most importantly raise the funds to initiate action before we lose any more fish species”.
Shoal will be working with the development team to add more fishes to the collection and ensure that new action is launched from the funds raised.
The funds will be used to maintain a community-led monitoring programme for the fish and to inform the hundreds of thousands of tourists that visit the National Park every year about the fish.
If you want to invest in the conservation of the dark-edged splitfin, and get a #NatureCollectible, then follow these steps:
Follow the steps and create your wallet for the fish
Go to Collectibles > Explore collectibles
Pick ‘darkedged splitfin’
Add to cart and purchase
Receive email confirmation with delivery instructions (with video) on how to get it delivered to your wallet
Why is Shoal working with the IUCN/Porini Foundation #naturecollectibles?
Shoal was created to support overlooked and neglected freshwater species. The neglect that these species have suffered is due to a lack of awareness and understanding about the richness and importance of this biodiversity, leading to a lack of financial support.
Shoal is committed to inspiring a new scale of action and new sources of funding. NFTCs, developed by IUCN and partners, and based on species, places and conservation actors, has the potential to raise attention and help raise the funds that these species so desperately need. When you purchase a #NatureCollectibles token, it is both a potential investment and a donation to the conservation of a highly threatened species.
The minimum we hope to raise for the darkedged splitfin is USD 10,000. This will make a significant impact for the species.
Post Overview
Michael Edmondstone
September 7th 2021
Fundraising, Stories
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Recent News
One quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction – IUCN Red List