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All around the world, freshwater fish face multiple stressors that have caused populations to plummet and, for all kinds of reasons, once discovered species have fallen off our radar. These Lost Fishes are species that have gone unseen for years – even decades – and are feared possibly extinct. In order to save these species, we first need to find them.
SHOAL have worked closely with Re:wild to launch a freshwater fish-focused extension to their tremendously successful Search for Lost Species campaign. In collaboration with Re:wild and the IUCN-SSC Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, SHOAL has compiled a list of more than 300 fish species that are currently missing to science.
SHOAL’s partners will head out on research expeditions to some of the planet’s most far-flung freshwaters, from former war zones to the world’s highest lake, to find species that haven’t been seen in over a decade. Once a species is rediscovered, we will launch a conservation project to ensure populations are protected and given full opportunity to recover.
But this is about much more than the expeditions SHOAL is directly involved in. We’re calling on others to join the search and conduct their own expeditions for the Lost Fishes. SHOAL, with expert input from Re:wild, is working with teams and individuals around the world to publicise their stories of rediscovery and adventure as part of this shared campaign of hope and celebration. Read more in our FAQ.
10 Most Wanted Lost Species
From the original master list, we narrowed down our focus to the top 10 ‘most wanted’ fishes in the world. Each is remarkable in its own right, and each has fascinating and wonderful stories to tell. Take the Haditha cavefish, which has only ever been recorded in an underground sinkhole directly underneath a shrine near Haditha, Iraq. To gain access, scientists and explorers must head through a slit on the floor of a quarry, enter a cavern and find a natural well 5m below the quarry’s stony floor. Only there, as far as science tells us, can the cavefish be found.
From the original master list, we narrowed down our focus to the top 10 ‘most wanted’ fishes in the world. Each is remarkable in its own right, and each has fascinating and wonderful stories to tell. Take the Haditha Cavefish, which has only ever been recorded in an underground sinkhole directly underneath a shrine near Haditha, Iraq. To gain access, scientists and explorers must head through a slit on the floor of a quarry, enter a cavern and find a natural well 5m below the quarry’s stony floor. Only there, as far as science tells us, can the cavefish be found.
Annamite Barb: Central Viet Nam
Batman River Loach: Batman River, Türkiye
Duck-billed Buntingi: Lake Poso, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Spinach Pipefish: Ramu-Sepik river system, Papua New Guinea
Leopard Barbel: Tigris-Euphrates river system in Eastern Türkiye, Eastern Syria, Iran, Iraq
Duck-billed Buntingi: Lake Poso, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Titicaca Orestias: Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru
Haditha Cavefish: Haditha, Iraq
Itasy Cichlid: Lake Itasy, Madagascar
Fat Catfish: Lake Tota, Colombia
The countries (in green) where the species have previously been observed
A timeline of Lost Fishes
Updates
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Interview with Dr Cüneyt Kaya and Dr Münevver Oral (finding the leopard barbel)
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Lost leopard barbel rediscovered
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Dr Kaya and Dr Oral return to Batman
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FOUND! The Batman River loach
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Fund the search for the fat catfish
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The Dumbéa River pipefish: a citizen science story
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Searching for the fat catfish with Dr. Ian Harrison
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