A thousand captive bred freshwater fish of two endangered species will be released in the streams of Alferce/Arade, in Monchique, and Colares, in Sintra.
The first operation to release the fish into the natural environment will take place on the 30th, in Colares, where 600 southern scales will be released (squalius pyrenaicus), species with conservation status “Endangered”.
The second will be held on May 6 at the Ribeira de Alferce, a tributary of the Arade River (Alferce, Monchique), where 400 southwestern bogas will be released (Almacai Iberochondrostoma), species with “Critically Endangered” conservation status.
This project is an initiative of the Vasco da Gama Aquarium, the Eco-Ethology Research Unit of the Superior Institute of Applied Psychology and Quercus, which also counts as partners with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Technical University of Lisbon and the Municipality of Figueiró dos Vinhos .
It has been ongoing since 2008 with the objective of reproducing and maintaining populations ex situ of some of the most endangered freshwater fish species in our country.
The repopulations will be carried out in stretches of the rivers of origin of the individuals initially captured for broodstock, which present characteristics favorable to the survival and reproduction of the fish.
Whenever possible, these sections are associated with projects for the recovery of water lines, involving citizens and entities that locally carry out a more or less formal monitoring of these hydrographic basins.
Both species were born and raised in captivity in the Vasco da Gama Aquarium, in outdoor tanks and in conditions similar to those found in nature.
The captive breeding project is being developed at the Vasco da Gama Aquarium (cultural body of the Navy, Algés) and at ICNF facilities managed by Quercus, located in Campelo (Figueiró dos Vinhos).
Invaded and degraded watercourses = species extinction!
National watercourses are under severe pressure and many of them are subject to extreme degradation.
To the combined effects of pollutant discharges, urban and industrial, which contaminate watercourses with excess nutrients, are added long summers with little rain, which are often devastating for river organisms.
Additionally, the proliferation of invasive plant and animal species and poor intervention practices in riverine habitats also contribute to increasing the risks to which our freshwater fish species are subject, in terms of conservation.
Note: the initial image is a Southwestern Boga (Almacai Iberochondrostoma)
Scientific illustration by Nuno Farinha®
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