The IUCN red listing of European Grayling “Thymallus thymallus – since 2010 has been reassessed. In its assessment published in October 2024, IUCN ranks the European Grayling among the species of “Least Concern”.
European Grayling status reassessed despite important warning signs
In its latest assessment, IUCN stipulates that the European Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) is of “least concern”. This label indicates that a certain species has been evaluated against the other Red List criteria – critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened – and does not qualify for them.
“Least concern”-labeled species are not a focus of wildlife conservation. The list of species under the label in question can be found here: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Nevertheless, many local European Grayling populations are currently considered under threat for various reasons – including predation.
According to BISE (Biodiversity Information System for Europe), the European Grayling in in “bad” or even “poor” status in all 7 European biogeographical regions. (Link here)
BISE assesses for each biogeographical region the condition of habitats and species compared to the favourable status the conservation statuses every six years, foreseen by the European Union’s Habitats’ Directive.
Additionally, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) – argues that Grayling is “Critically endangered” with several threats including climate change and fishing. To restore the species, HELCOM advises to work on the restoration of spawning habitats and the improvement of water quality in spawning rivers.
ProtectFish will strive for better Grayling populations
The ProtectFish project will assess the status of the European Grayling populations as one of its Work Packages’ tasks.
This research project will also test management options on how to improve Europe’s rivers declining biodiversity. This will be done upon the collection of EU-wide data, the execution of extensive field-experiments & discussions with local stakeholders.
More information on our projects methodology is available here.
Follow this project for more information on how research can contribute to a better understanding of declining EU river fish stocks and how management measures can contribute to an enhanced survival rate and healthy rivers.
Media contact for any further information – Aliénor: protectfish@alienor.eu