Critically endangered
At extremely high risk of extinction. 53 fish on EveryFish so far.
Critically Endangered is the highest risk category on the IUCN Red List for species still living in the wild. A Critically Endangered species faces an extremely high risk of extinction, for example after a fall of 80 per cent or more in numbers over ten years or three generations, or with very few adults left. Sawfish, many sturgeons, the European eel, the Mekong giant catfish and the hump-backed mahseer are here.
On the brink
The largetooth and smalltooth sawfishes have vanished from much of their former range, including large parts of India's coasts, because their saws tangle in nets. Most sturgeons, including the beluga of the Caspian, are Critically Endangered from dams and the caviar trade. The scalloped hammerhead and the oceanic whitetip shark were listed in 2019 after steep declines from fishing. The Devils Hole pupfish survives in one pool in Nevada.
India's critically endangered fish
The hump-backed mahseer of the Kaveri was listed as Critically Endangered in 2018, the year its scientific name was settled, after surveys found it had almost disappeared. The Ganges shark, a river shark of the Hooghly and the delta, is known from very few records. Both are protected under India's Wild Life (Protection) Act, along with the sawfishes. Saving such fish depends on protecting the rivers and coasts where they live, not only on hatcheries.
Famous critically endangered fish
Largetooth sawfishLost from much of its range
Beluga sturgeonThe largest sturgeon
European eelCritically Endangered since 2008
Mekong giant catfishOne of the largest freshwater fish
Orange-finned mahseerThe hump-backed mahseer, listed in 2018
Scalloped hammerheadListed Critically Endangered in 2019
Ganges sharkA rare river shark of India
Devils Hole pupfishLives in a single poolFurther reading
🇺🇸 United StatesApache trout
A golden-spotted trout native to Arizona highlands.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreSiamese tigerfish
A critically endangered freshwater perch from Indochina.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1998
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreKaronga tilapia
Endangered cichlid from Lake Malawi and the Shire River.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreGiant pangasius
A large freshwater catfish from Southeast Asia, now critically endangered due to overfishing and habitat loss.Catfish · Rivers and lakes · 1931
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreMekong giant catfish
A massive freshwater fish native to the Mekong basin, now critically endangered.Catfish · Rivers and lakes
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 2 moreGiant barb
The largest cyprinid fish, native to major river basins in Southeast Asia.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreSakhalin taimen
Large, ancient salmonid of Northeast AsiaSalmonid · Rivers and lakes
WorldSawfish
Large rays with a toothed rostrum found in tropical coastal waters.Ray · Coasts and shelves
🇲🇼 MalawiKampango
A large predatory catfish native to the waters of Lake Malawi.Catfish · Rivers and lakes
EuropeAllis shad
Anadromous Atlantic fish with a dark gill spot.Herring · Rivers and lakes
🇦🇺 Australia and 4 moreLargetooth sawfish
A critically endangered ray with a toothed rostrum that enters rivers.Ray · Rivers and lakes
🇮🇳 IndiaPondicherry shark
A rare, small grey requiem shark from Indo-Pacific coasts.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839
🇸🇪 SwedenEuropean eel
A catadromous fish with a mysterious ocean spawning cycle and critically endangered status.Eel · Rivers and lakes
🇦🇺 Australia and 4 moreNarrow sawfish
A rare ray with a toothed snout found in Indo-Pacific waters.Ray · Coasts and shelves
🇦🇺 Australia and 4 moreLongcomb sawfish
A critically endangered sawfish with a toothed rostrum.Ray · Coasts and shelves
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sturgeon
Critically endangered giant migratory fish of the YangtzeAncient · Rivers and lakes
WorldPersian sturgeon
A large Caspian Sea fish prized for caviar.Ancient · Coasts and shelves
WorldStarry sturgeon
Long-snouted sturgeon from the Caspian and Black Seas.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇦 Canada and 3 moreSturgeon
Ancient fish with bony plates and heterocercal tails, known for caviar.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
WorldBeluga sturgeon
A massive anadromous fish from the Caspian and Black Sea basins, prized for its caviar.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGanges shark
Critically endangered river shark of South AsiaShark · Rivers and lakes · 1839
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Apache trout: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain, source
- Siamese tigerfish: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Devils Hole pupfish: Olin Feuerbacher / USFWS, Public domain, source
- Giant pangasius: Gv-fishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mekong giant catfish: KKPCW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Giant barb: User:Lerdsuwa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sakhalin taimen: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sawfish: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Kampango: SarahDepper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Allis shad: Krüger, Public domain, source
- Pondicherry shark: J.A.F. Garrick, Public domain, source
- Orange-finned mahseer: A. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- European eel: mr_capgras, CC BY 4.0, source
- Narrow sawfish: Hamid Badar Osmany, CC BY 3.0, source
- Longcomb sawfish: Flavio Ferrari, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Scalloped hammerhead: NOAA Photo Library, Public domain, source
- Chinese sturgeon: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Persian sturgeon: A. Abdoli, CC0, source
- Starry sturgeon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sturgeon: Duane Raver/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Beluga sturgeon: Daniel Döhne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ganges shark: Müller & Henle, Public domain, source