Many of you who have been following this series on my work with Siberian taimen (Hucho taimen) in Mongolia may not be aware that this species is actually one of five taimen species that exist in the world. A recent International Union for Conservation of Nature report titled, “Largest Salmon in the World Edges Toward Extinction,” does a good job of explaining how precarious these populations are.
Two species of taimen the Danube taimen (Hucho hucho) and the Sakhalin taimen (Parahucho perryi) have already been classified as endangered and critically endangered respectively by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Unfortunately the remaining three species have just recently joined that list. The Siberian taimen (Hucho taimen) was recently listed as vulnerable. In Mongolia alone there has been a 19.1% decrease in habitat and over the last three generations there has been a 50% loss of abundance. Sadly, Mongolia is seen as one of the last strongholds. In parts of China and Russia Siberian taimen numbers have been depleted by more than 90%. The remaining two species of taimen Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) and Korean taimen (Hucho ishikawae) have been listed as critically endangered and data deficient.
These listings are nothing new for people who have been working with taimen; it has been very clear to all of us that this species is under great threat for possible extinction in certain areas. This is a sad day for taimen lovers worldwide. Please take a moment to read the entire IUCN report, as it is very informative.
This series follows University of Montana graduate student Dan Bailey as he travels the wilds of Mongolia to survey and tag Taimen, the world’s largest trout. Dan is posting to the Club EcoBlu blog as he assists with the Taimen Conservation Project. Taimen are highly endangered, have been known to grow to 6-ft long and more than 200 lbs. The information gathered will aid in drafting a conservation plan to protect this megafish. Trout Headwaters, Inc. is a sponsor of the project.
