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APPENDIX B. Migratory Fish Species in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa
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NORTH AMERICA

The best-known and most wide ranging of the North American migratory fish are salmon. Salmon are found on both coasts, Pacific and Atlantic. Speciation has been much further evolved in the Pacific, where at least six species are found naturally. All Pacific salmon belong to the single genus Onchorhynchus, while the Atlantic salmon is a single species, Salmo salar. All species migrate from salt water to spawn in freshwater rivers, burying their eggs in gravel. The salmon species are the mainstays of commercial and sport fisheries, and many populations are augmented by hatcheries. Natural predation and changes in habitat caused by poor forestry practices, dams, and water diversions can all cause high mortality in the early life stages.

Another migratory salmonid species is the charr, found in cold freshwater of the Northern Hemisphere and Arctic seas. Where the water body has an outlet to the ocean the charr is migratory, feeding in the arctic seas and returning to rivers to spawn. Arctic cisco feed and migrate in summer along the Arctic Refuge coast, spawning and over-wintering in Canada’s Mackenzie River. After hatching, the finger-length juveniles migrate west along the Refuge coast, returning each year to the Mackenzie.

Other species of migratory fish on the West Coast of North America include the American shad (Alosa sapidissima, introduced), eulachon (smelt) (Thaleichthys pacificus), green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), white sturgeon (A. transmontanus) and Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata). Like the salmon, the American shad returns to its freshwater natal areas to spawn in estuaries, streams, and rivers in the spring and early summer. As with South American migratory species, the fertilized eggs float downstream and hatch in 3 to 10 days. Migrating downstream, most juveniles reach the open ocean before winter, normally spending 3 to 4 years at sea before returning to spawn. They range along the Pacific coast from California to Alaska.


921 Pacific species from http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_anad_table.html ; Eastern species from http://www.chesapeakebay.net/info/fish1.cfm

Smelt range from Northern California to the eastern Bering Sea and the Pribilof Islands. Young larval eulachon in estuaries and near shore ocean areas are sensitive to marine pollution and toxic runoff from agriculture and urbanization. Droughts and pollution may postpone the smelt’s entering freshwater to spawn until conditions are right.

Green sturgeon (also known as Sakhalin sturgeon or sterlyad sturgeon) grow slowly and mature late. Apparently they spawn every 4 to 11 years. In the ocean they are highly migratory, spending most of their life in salt water. In North America, green sturgeon are found from Ensenada, Mexico, to Southeast Alaska. Like the white sturgeon, green sturgeon prefer to spawn in lower reaches of large, swift rivers, broadcasting directly into the water column where the fertilized eggs sink to the bottom and attach to substrate. White sturgeon (also known as Pacific sturgeon, Oregon sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon, and Sacramento sturgeon) are the largest freshwater fish in North America. They can weigh over 1,500 pounds, grow to 20 feet in length, and live over 100 years. In North America they range from Ensenada, Mexico to Cook Inlet, Alaska. Dams have harmed white sturgeon by landlocking populations and destroying spawning grounds. White sturgeon do not normally use fish ladders, so bypass mitigation measures tend to fail.

The Pacific Lampreys (also known as Pacific sea-lamprey, three toothed lamprey, tridentate lamprey, and sea lamprey) range from Baja California to the Bering Sea in Alaska and Asia. Born in freshwater streams, they migrate to the ocean and return to freshwater to spawn. Since the larval form lives as a filter feeder in mud, its habitat can be washed away by dam releases or harmed by pollution.

On the East Coast of North America, anadromous fish species include alewife, striped bass, shortnose sturgeon, and naturally occurring American shad. The only catadromous species in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), which spawns in the Sargasso Sea. Anadromous fish, such as the American shad and the blueback herring, travel from the high salinity waters of the lower Bay or Atlantic Ocean to spawn in the Bay watershed’s freshwater rivers and streams.

Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus) are found from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico and swim through the Chesapeake Bay in April and May on their way into tributaries, where they spawn and where the young feed. Overfishing, pollution and dam construction have reduced the population. North American catfish, of the family Ictaluridae, are freshwater species that commonly range into estuarine waters.

EUROPE

The major migratory fish of Europe is the Atlantic salmon (S. salar). Wild populations of the salmon have vanished from at least 309 rivers in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and are about to disappear from Estonia, Portugal, and Poland. Norway, Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland have among them almost 90% of the known healthy populations. The other significant migratory species is shad. Many species, such as the European twaite shad, A. fallax, are migratory and spawn in rivers after migrating from the sea.

Dams have strongly affected many European migratory species. On the Danube River in Austria, developed for hydroelectric power since 1954, only two free flowing areas remained by 1989. Lower down the river, the Bucharest Convention of 1958 (signed by Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Russia) regulates fishing for migratory species. The species protected are beluga (Huso huso), Russian sturgeon (Acipenser guldenstaedti), sevryuga (Acipenser stellatus), sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), carp (Cyprinus carpio), pike-perch (Lucioperca sandra), bream (Abramis brama), herring (Caspialosa pontica), crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), and mussel (Unio pictorum). The Zanchi project at the Steccaia Dam on the Ombrone River is Italy’s first fishway, designed to allow the upstream spawning migration of shad (Alosa fallax nilotica). Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) also once were found in the lower river, but are now very rare throughout the Tyrrhenian Sea. Other fish that migrate from the sea include eel (Anguilla anguilla), mullet (Mugil spp., Liza spp.), lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), and bass (Morone, Labrax). In France, dams on the Rhône have reduced access to spawning grounds of shad (Alosa alosa), sturgeon (A. sturio) and lamprey (P. marinus). In Poland, the Jeziorsko Dam on the Warta River dammed in 1986 has aided in the disappearance of the anadromous Vimba vimba.922 In Russia, where dams block sturgeon spawning migrations, fish-lifts have been installed, and models have been developed to calculate their effectiveness.923 In Sweden, two thirds of large-sized stocks of brown trout, Salmo trutta, have become extinct in Lake Vanern due to migratory obstructions.924

MEKONG AND OTHER ASIAN RIVERS

There are about 1,200 fish species in the Mekong system.925 As in South America, many species migrate upriver to spawn at the onset of high waters, which then carry larvae and juveniles into the floodplain nurseries.926 The Mekong fisheries are partly based on migrating fish, such as the dai (bag net) fisheries in Cambodia927 and the Khone Falls fishery in the Lao PDR.928 The larval drift itself is also exploited, as in the Mekong delta in Viet Nam, where millions of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus larvae are caught every year to be stocked in ponds and cages.929

Since the 1950s nearly six thousand dams, reservoirs and irrigation schemes have been built in the Mekong system. Only one dam has gone across the Mekong mainstem and another is being built (both in Yunnan Province, China). The dams have reduced peak floods during filling stage, fragmented aquatic habitats and blocked fish spawning and nursery areas to migratory species. Mekong giant catfish is an endangered species found only in the Mekong River and its tributaries. In breeding season, it migrates upstream and into the Mekong tributaries to spawn before travelling back to Ton Le Sap in Cambodia and the wetlands in the lower Mekong.

In China’s East River, a tributary of the Pearl River, Chinese shad (Macrura reevesii Richardson) had virtually disappeared by 1970, their migrations blocked by dams.930 On the Qiantang River, dammed by the Fuchunjiang, Huanzhen and Xianjiang dams, M. reevesii has vanished, and the number of species in the Xianjiang Reservoir fell from 107 to 66–83 because the Xianjiang Dam blocked migrations.931 In the Yangtze River M. reevesii is also rare. Reservoirs and dams have also stopped the migration of other fishes, shrimps and crabs. Downstream of the Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze (Changjiang), Acipenser sinensis migrations have been affected; hatcheries breed and release this species and Myxocyprinus asiaticus into the river.932 The Three Gorges Project, begun in 1994, will become the largest hydropower station in the world. Silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, bighead carp, Aristichthys nobilis, and black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus are found in the river. The dam may disturb distinct genetic stocks of these species.933

In Malaysia, on the Perak River, the Chenderoh Dam has blocked the migration of Probarbus jullieni (Cyprinidae), contributing to a decline in their numbers.934 Dams on the Ganges of India have nearly eliminated the anadromous Hilsa ilisha (Clupeidae) in the riverine stretches.935

AFRICA

Labeo altivelis, also known as the rednose labeo, migrate from October to December and spawn between January and March. The species is intensely fished, partly for its caviar. Clarias gariepinus, a commercially important predatory catfish, moves upriver during the rainy season to lay eggs on vegetation in flooded areas; the Yellow Fish (Barbus marquensis) also migrates upstream to spawn during the rainy season.936 In South Africa, dams have prevented or disrupted the migrations of several vulnerable and rare species.937 In Lake Kariba on the Zambezi River several species such as the cyprinid Distichodus mossambicus, which moves upriver to breed have disappeared from the reservoir because of the lacustrine conditions.

In Mali, along the Central Delta of the Niger River, there are about 130 to 140 species adapted to seasonal and interannual variations in water flow. The Markala Dam built in 1943 and the Selengue Dam built in 1984 do not affect reproduction of many fishes, as spawning areas are located downstream. Species such as Gymnarchus niloticus, Polypterus senegalus and Gnathonemus niger, whose reproduction is linked to the floodplain, and Citharinus citharus and Clarotes laticeps, which use the floodplain, have suffered reductions since their upward migrations are disrupted. Flows through the Selengue Dam during the dry season may aid spawning. As well, lateral movements between the floodplain and the main channel are important for many species.938


922 Penczak et al., 1998

923 Poddubny & Galat, 1995; Gertsev & Gertseva, 1999

924 Ros, 1981

925 Thuock et al., in prep

926 Poulsen & Valbo-Jørgensen, 2000

927 Lieng et al., 1995

928 Baird, 1998; Singanouvong et al., 1996a, 1996b

929 Poulsen & Valbo-Jørgensen, 2000

930 Liao et al., 1989

931 Zhong & Power, 1996

932 Zhong & Power, 1996

933 Zhong & Power, 1996; Lu et al., 1997

934 Dudgeon, 1992

935 Jhingran & Ghosh, 1978; Natarajan, 1989; Dudgeon, 1992, 1995

936 Sugunan, 1997

937 Skelton, 1987

938 Läe, 1995

REFERENCES

Baird, I. G. 1998. Preliminary fishery stock assessment results from Ban Hang Khone, Khong District, Champasak Province, Southern Lao PDR. Technical report on environmental protection and community development in the Siphandone Wetland of Champassak province. Funded by the European Union and implemented by CESVI, 112 p.

Dudgeon, D. 1992. Endangered ecosystems: a review of the conservation status of tropical Asian rivers. Hydrobiologia, 248:167–191.

Dudgeon, D. 1995. River regulation in southern China: ecological implications, conservation and environmental management. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management, 11:35–54.

Gertsev, V. I., and V. V. Gertseva. 1999. A model of sturgeon distribution under a dam of a hydro-electric power plant. Ecological Modelling 119:21–28.

Jhingran, V. G., and K. K. Ghosh. 1978. The fisheries of the Ganga River system in the context of Indian aquaculture. Aquaculture, 14:141–162.

Läe, R. 1995. Climatic and anthropogenic effects on fish diversity and fish yields in the Central Delta of the Niger River. Aquatic Living Resources, 8:43–58.

Liao, G. Z., X. Lu, and X. Z. Xiao. 1989. Fisheries resources of the Pearl River and their exploitation. In International Large River Symposium. Dodge, D. P. (Ed.). Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 561–568 p.

Lieng, S. C., Yim, and N. P. Van Zalinge. 1995. Freshwater fisheries of Cambodia: the bag net (dai) fishery in the Tonle Sap River. Asian Fisheries Science, 8:255–262.

Lu, G., S. Li, and L. Bernatchez. 1997. Mitochondrial DNA diversity, population structure, and conservation genetics of four native carps within the Yangtze River, China. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 54:47–58.

Natarajan, A. V. 1989. Environmental impact of Ganga Basin development on genepool and fisheries of the Ganga River system. In International Large River Symposium. D. P. Dodge (Ed.). Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 106:545–560.

Penczak, T., L. Glowacki, W. Galicka, and H. Koszalinski. 1998. A long-term study (1985–1995) of fish populations in the impounded Warta River, Poland. Hydrobiologia, 368:157–173.

Poddubny, A.G., and D. L. Galat. 1995. Habitat associations of upper Volga River fishes: effects of reservoirs. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management, 11:67–84.

Poulsen, A. F., J. Valbo-Jorgensen (Eds.). 2000. Fish migrations and spawning habits in the Mekong mainstream – a survey using local knowledge (basin-wide). In Assessment of Mekong fisheries: fish migrations and spawning and the impact of water management component, Vientiane, Lao PDR. Internal report, Mekong River Commission.

Ros, T. 1981. Salmonids in the Lake Vänern area. In Fish gene pools. Ryman, N. (Ed.). Editorial Service, FRN, Stockholm, 21–32 p.

Singanouvong, D., C. Soulignavong, K. Vonghachak, B. Saadsy, and T. J. Warren. 1996a. The main dry season fish migrations of the Mekong mainstream at Hat village, Muang Khong district, Hee village, Muang Mouan district and Ban Hatsalao village, Pakse. IDRC Fisheries Ecology Technical Report No. 3, 131 p.

Singanouvong, D., C. Soulignavong, K. Vonghachak, B. Saadsy, and T. J. Warren. 1996b. The main wet season migration through Hoo Som Yai, a steep-gradient channel at the great fault line on the Mekong River, Champassak province, Southern Lao PDR. IDRC Fisheries Ecology Technical Report No. 4, 115 p.

Skelton, P. H. 1987. South African Red Data Book – Fishes. Foundation for Research Development, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. South African National Scientific Programmes Report 137, Pretoria, S. Africa, 199 p.

Sugunan, V. V. 1997. Fisheries and management of small water bodies in seven countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. FAO Fisheries Circular, 933:149.

Thuock, N., N. Van Zalinge, P. Degen, T. S. Tana, and S. Nuov. In preparation. Taken for granted, yet increasingly at risk. Conflicts over Cambodia’s freshwater fish resources.

Zhong, Y., and G. Power. 1996. Environmental impacts of hydroelectric projects on fish resources in China. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management, 12:81–98.







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