Romanian non-profit raises donations to save endangered “living fossil” fish and its habitat
Alex Gavan Foundation, a non-profit set up by leading Romanian mountaineer and environmentalist Alex Gavan, is raising donations for a project aimed at saving a "living fossil" fish that still survives in a very restricted area in the…
Irina Marica · Journalist
· Updated · 3 min read
Alex Gavan Foundation, a non-profit set up by leading Romanian mountaineer and environmentalist Alex Gavan, is raising donations for a project aimed at saving a "living fossil" fish that still survives in a very restricted area in the Valsan Valley in Romania's Fagaras Mountains.
The asprete (Romanichthys valsanicola) is a 65 million-year-old species, which means it is contemporary with the last dinosaurs that walked the Earth. It is the rarest fish in Europe and, by some estimates, even in the world. And unfortunately, it is now facing complete extinction, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rating it as "Critically Endangered." The threats are numerous and varied but mainly related to human activity, such as pollution, the unsustainable exploitation of rivers, the theft of riverbed gravel, or the unauthorized cutting of trees along the river.
Local environmentalists have managed to film and photograph the aspretein the fall of 2020. The images came to confirm that the fish still survives in the Valsan River (pictured below), although its area of distribution has shrunk dramatically.
In a recent Facebook post, Alex Gavan invites people to join the fight to save the asprete and donate to his Foundation. The funds raised will be used to build a base for the research and captive breeding of asprete, which will also serve as a visitor centre, and for the ecological restoration of the Valsan river - the prehistoric fish's last tiny home. The centre will be developed in the Bradulet commune in Valsan Valley.
"For those who resonate or feel the same way, for those who find it appropriate, I invite you to join in the effort started in 2019, the effort of my wonderful team and mine to save from extinction and preserve the asprete(Romanychthys valsanicola), the fossil fish that is 65 million years old and contemporary with the last dinosaurs," reads Gavan's post on Facebook.
"Our brother is still living in only a few specimens in the valley of my childhood, in the Valsan river, in the Fagaras Mountains. Our "wisdom" turned it into the rarest fish in Europe and, according to some estimates, even in the world," he added.
