ASFB Home > Research > Threatened Fishes

Threatened Fishes

The conservation status of Australian fishes was classified by the Conference on Australian Threatened Fishes held by the Australian Society for Fish Biology in Melbourne in August 1985. A total of 59 species were listed in seven categories (Harris 1987).

One of the recommendations of the 1985 conference was that the changeable nature of the conservation status of fishes should be recognised, and that the status of the Australian fauna should be reviewed regularly. As a result, the Threatened Fishes Committee have revised the listing annually since 1988. In 1991, the Committee agreed to the establishment of a more formal Committee and the adoption of a nomination form for listing or de-listing fishes on the Conservation Status list. The conservation status listings are ratified by the society and are published in the newsletter as yearly supplements.