Overfishing, habitat degradation, climate change, and pollution are driving many marine and freshwater fishes toward extinction. Unlike land animals, aquatic populations are hard to count precisely, but trends in catch per unit effort, size at landing, spawning-stock indices, and range gaps clearly signal risk.
Below you’ll find 33 threatened fish—with common and scientific names—plus concise ID notes, habitats, and the main human pressures.
Featured species (expanded notes)
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna · Thunnus thynnus
Napoleon Wrasse (Humphead/Maori Wrasse) · Cheilinus undulatus
Ocean Sunfish (Mola) · Mola mola
Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta) · Betta splendens
Whale Shark · Rhincodon typus
Giant Mekong Catfish · Pangasianodon gigas
27 more endangered fishes (quick list with scientific names)
How to spot “endangerment signals” in fishes
Conservation & responsible-consumption tips
Scientific name: Thunnus thynnus
Size & ID: Among the largest tunas; streamlined, metallic dark-blue back, silvery flanks; individuals can exceed 3 m and hundreds of kg.
Range & habitat: North Atlantic and Mediterranean (highly migratory, pelagic).
Diet: Fast pursuit of schooling fishes (herring, mackerel) and cephalopods.
Threats & status: Severe historical overexploitation tied to high market value (especially for sashimi) compressed spawning and recovery windows. Some areas report sharp long-term declines; management has improved in places, but demand pressure remains a key risk.
Scientific name: Cheilinus undulatus
Size & ID: Reef giant to >2 m and ~200 kg. Diagnostic forehead hump, rippling face markings, blue-green hues.
Range & habitat: Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
Diet: Crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms (including sea urchins and crown-of-thorns).
Biology: Protogynous (female-to-male) sex change; slow growth and low natural abundance.
Threats & status: Targeted for the live-reef fish trade and luxury seafood; life history (slow, sex change) makes recovery slow. Widely recognized as Endangered in need of strict protection.
Scientific name: Mola mola
Size & ID: One of the heaviest bony fishes, to >1 tonne and ~3.5 m length. Disk-like, laterally compressed body, no true tail, huge dorsal/anal fins.
Range & habitat: Tropical–temperate Atlantic, Pacific, Indian oceans; often near the surface offshore.
Diet: Gelatinous zooplankton (e.g., jellyfish) plus crustaceans, mollusks, polychaetes.
Threats & status: Bycatch in longlines/driftnets, ingestion of plastics, and local meat trade in parts of East Asia. Commonly listed as Vulnerable.
Scientific name: Betta splendens
Size & ID: ~6–7 cm; wild fish are more subdued brown-green; aquarists have bred spectacular colors and fins. Males are strongly territorial.
Range & habitat: Mekong Basin (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam); ditches, rice paddies, slow-moving waters with low oxygen.
Diet: Omnivorous with a focus on small invertebrates.
Threats & status: Wild populations pressured by habitat loss/pollution and capture for the aquarium trade; assessed as Vulnerable with declining wild trend. Distinguish wild lineages from captive-bred varieties in outreach.
Scientific name: Rhincodon typus
Size & ID: The largest fish alive (to ~12 m); gray-blue back with white spots and lines, white belly; each individual’s pattern is unique.
Range & habitat: Warm seas worldwide; seasonal aggregations near productive coasts.
Diet & behavior: Filter-feeder on plankton, fish eggs, and small nekton; gentle, often tolerant of divers.
Threats & status: Industrial fishing/bycatch, vessel strikes, and degraded coastal habitats. Trade and take are restricted or banned in many countries; widely listed as threatened.
Scientific name: Pangasianodon gigas
Size & ID: Freshwater behemoth to ~3 m and ~300 kg. Juveniles may be opportunistic; adults are largely herbivorous.
Range & habitat: Mekong River mainstem and select tributaries.
Threats & status: Critically Endangered. Dams disrupt migrations and sediment/nutrient flows; compounded by historical overfishing and water-quality decline. Remaining wild numbers are extremely low.
(Regional common names vary; the scientific name is the reliable search key.)
Common Skate (European skate complex) — Dipturus batis
Pelagic Stingray — Pteroplatytrygon violacea
Giant Manta Ray — Manta birostris
European Sturgeon — Acipenser sturio
European Eel — Anguilla anguilla
Swordfish — Xiphias gladius
Great Hammerhead — Sphyrna mokarran
Shortfin Mako — Isurus oxyrinchus
Megamouth Shark — Megachasma pelagios
Giant Pangasius (“Thailand shark” in trade) — Pangasius sanitwongsei
Ganges Shark — Glyphis gangeticus
Longfin Mako — Isurus paucus
African Tigerfish — Hydrocynus vittatus
Southern Bluefin Tuna — Thunnus maccoyii
Chinook (King) Salmon — Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
European Hake — Merluccius merluccius
Pardilla (Iberian cyprinid) — Iberochondrostoma lemmingii
Chinese Paddlefish — Psephurus gladius (very likely extinct)
Banded Neolebias — Neolebias lozii
Valencian Toothcarp (Samaruc) — Valencia hispanica
Lake Garda Carpione — Salmo carpio
Steelhead (anadromous Rainbow Trout) — Oncorhynchus mykiss
Apache Trout — Oncorhynchus apache
Flathead Trout (Turkey) — Salmo platycephalus
Comoros Coelacanth — Latimeria chalumnae
Totoaba — Totoaba macdonaldi
Andean Catfish (Preñadilla) — Astroblepus ubidiai
Catch & size trends: Sharp declines in catch for the same effort; smaller average sizes at landing.
Shrinking spawning stocks: Reduced density/area of spawning grounds; fewer mature adults.
Range fragmentation: Former strongholds show prolonged absences or only sporadic records.
High bycatch exposure: Longlines, gillnets, and trawls causing heavy incidental mortality.
Migration bottlenecks: Dams and water diversions blocking river runs; single-basin endemics are especially vulnerable.
Choose traceable seafood & respect closed seasons: Prefer products with clear origin and certifications; avoid high-risk species and spawning periods.
Cut plastic & coastal pollution: Reduces entanglement and ingestion risks; improves nursery habitats.
Safeguard river connectivity: Design fish passages and maintain ecological flows in water-infrastructure projects.
Educate on wild vs. captive lineages: For aquarium species (e.g., Betta), prioritize captive-bred and avoid wild harvests.
Citizen science matters: Report strandings/bycatch sightings and contribute observations to bolster population assessments.
Healthy oceans and rivers depend on these flagship—and often overlooked—fishes. With sustainable harvests, habitat restoration, and smarter consumer choices, many species still have a path back from the brink.
animal tags： endangered fish
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