News
RiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaRiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-Nicola
EveryFish

Vulnerable

At high risk in the wild. 83 fish on EveryFish so far.

Vulnerable is the lowest of the three IUCN Red List categories for threatened species. A Vulnerable species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild, judged by measures such as a fall of 30 per cent or more in numbers over ten years or three generations, or a small and shrinking range. Fish listed as Vulnerable include the great white shark, the ocean sunfish, the Atlantic cod and the silver pomfret.

Big, slow and caught

Many Vulnerable fish are large, slow-growing species that are easily overfished, such as the great white and bull sharks, the reef manta ray and the ocean sunfish, which is caught as bycatch in drift nets and longlines. The Atlantic cod was listed in 1996 after the collapse of its north-west Atlantic stocks. The common carp, invasive in many places, is listed as Vulnerable in its native range in the rivers around the Black and Caspian Seas, where wild populations have declined.

Indian fish at risk

The silver pomfret, Maharashtra's state fish, is listed as Vulnerable, with landings falling along India's west coast. The boal, a large river catfish of South Asia, the spotted seahorse and the mrigal carp of the south are also Vulnerable. The Siamese fighting fish is Vulnerable in the wild in Thailand and nearby countries, though it is bred by the millions for the aquarium trade, which shows how a common pet can be a rare wild animal.

Famous vulnerable fish

Great white sharkVulnerable worldwideOcean sunfishCaught as bycatch in many fisheriesAtlantic codListed Vulnerable in 1996Bull sharkVulnerable since 2021Reef manta raySlow-breeding and much fishedSilver pomfretThe silver pomfretBoalBoal, a South Asian river catfishSiamese fighting fishRare in the wild, common in tanks

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
WorldBroadnose sevengill shark A large coastal shark with seven gill slits and spotted skin.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldSandbar shark Large coastal requiem shark with a high dorsal finShark · Coasts and shelves WorldTawny nurse shark A large Indo-Pacific carpet shark known for octopus hunting and spitting water.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1831 EuropeNursehound A large catshark of the northeastern Atlantic with rough skin and spotted patterns.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.