Quarter of world’s freshwater fish species can soon face extinction, researchers warn

Thousands of species of freshwater fish are at risk of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a Monday report released at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai.

The organization assessed just under 15,000 species and found 25% face possible extinction, blaming it on climate change, rising sea levels, pollution, overfishing, invasive species, disease, dams and water extraction.

More than half of the world’s known fish species live in freshwater, and at least 200 million people rely on freshwater fish as their major source of protein