On August 28, Wetlands International Europe hosted a webinar to discuss the first results of the biological criteria designed to identify Swimways of European Importance (SEI). This event was open to the members of the Trans-European Swimways Network (TEN-S), created less than a year ago, which gathers researchers and practitioners committed to migratory freshwater fish conservation.
Over the past six months, our work within the Trans-European Swimways Programme has been dedicated to the identification of SEI based on biological criteria. Thanks to the data provided by our partners at IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, a preliminary version of the biological criteria has been developed. Using these criteria, we have carried out an initial identification of over 400 SEI, which will be further refined in the upcoming months.
The webinar was attended by representatives from IGB-Leibnitz Institute for Freshwater and Inland Fisheries, the European Anglers Alliance, Deltares and EuroNatur who provided valuable insight on topics such as data updates, additional parameters to include in the definition, aim of the process and future cultural and economic criteria development. Advice was also provided on an eventual update of the criteria to also consider the abundance of endangered migratory freshwater fishes in SEI rather than only their presence or absence, as well as their historical presence.
Policy advocacy was a key item in the discussions and linkages between the SEI criteria and current policy developments were highlighted to help tailor advocacy work on dam removal and the free-flowing rivers target of the future Nature Restoration Law. SEI criteria development shall enable both policy improvements at the European level and concrete action on SEIs.
Likewise, a special note was made on the added value of the TEN-S for its collaborative and iterative approach to best define SEI and ensure both their sustainability and relevance for all the actors working to conserve migratory freshwater fishes in Europe.
These precious comments will be integrated into the upcoming publication of a biological criteria report and a first technical report on the identification and definition of Trans-European Swimways for the conservation of migratory freshwater fishes.
If you want to learn more about the work carried out by the Trans-European Swimways Programme and Network, please refer to this webpage, where you will find our full Programme and relevant contact details.