BBC News
By Helen Briggs
image captionHealthy rivers are essential for fish to thrive
A report has warned of a catastrophic decline in freshwater fish, with nearly a third threatened by extinction.
Conservation groups said 80 species were known to have gone extinct, 16 in the last year alone.
Millions of people rely on freshwater fish for food and as a source of income through angling and the pet trade.
But numbers have plummeted due to pressures including pollution, unsustainable fishing, and the damming and draining of rivers and wetlands.
The report said populations of migratory fish have fallen by three-quarters in the last 50 years.
World s forgotten fishes vital for hundreds of millions of people but one-third face extinction, warns new report panda.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from panda.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Freshwater fish are in catastrophic decline with one-third facing extinction, report finds By Sophie Lewis Giant Chinese paddlefish declared extinct
Thousands of fish species are facing catastrophic decline threatening the health, food security and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people around the world. New research shows that one-third of all freshwater fish now face extinction.
According to a report published Tuesday by 16 global conservation groups, 18,075 species of freshwater fish inhabit our oceans, accounting for over half of the world s total fish species and a quarter of all vertebrates on Earth. This biodiversity is critical to maintaining not only the health of the planet, but the economic prosperity of communities worldwide.