Global Swimways Webinar Marathon

On May 14th we hosted a 24-hour marathon!
 
In honour of the original date of World Fish Migration Day, we hosted a special 24-hour webinar marathon! In this webinar, over 50 leaders on this issue told us about global swimways, fish species population status' and trends. Practitioners and experts from each continent shared best practices about what is going well and inspired us all to take action! There were over 2000 people who attended the webinar, many of whom expressed how valuable the webinar was for them and their research or work.

The webinar was the world's first Global Swimways Webinar Marathon, a 24-hour celebration of connecting and sharing inspiring knowledge about rivers, migratory fish, river connectivity and smart solutions to bend the curve.

The webinar included presentations from over 50 local, national and global experts. In total, we hosted nine sessions and the duration of each was 1-2 hours with a break in between each session. The sessions were designed to accommodate different time zones and continents.

View available speaker presentations

Watch the recordings of all of the sessions

Download the report
 
 
 

 

Save migratory fish in rivers together

The world’s migratory fish are in an enormous decline, with human development and infrastructure, like dams and weirs, blocking critical migratory pathways. We want to turn the tide and save these migratory fish, connect a global movement of practitioners and to open up the swimways of the world together. To support this process we recently started the Global Swimway Initiative, together with IUCN and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative. We have defined swimways as pathways fishes migrate along.

Spoken Language: English

Webinar regions:

- Oceania
- Eastern Asia
- Central and South Asia
- Western Asia
- Africa
- Europe
- South America
- Central America
- North America

Program (CET timezone)

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    Wrap up

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    Wrap up
    Joshua Royte (moderator) - TNC Maine, USA

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    300 years of decline: status and trends of native fish in Oceania
    Lee Baumgartner - Charles Sturt University, Australia

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    Fish Passage strategy New Zealand
    Sjaan Bowie - Department of Conservation, New Zealand

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    NSW Fish Passage Strategy and the challenges to restore the Murray-Darling River Swimway
    Matthew Gordos - New South Wales - Department of Primary Insdustries (NSW DPI Fisheries)

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    A Māori perspective on migratory fish passage from Coastal Lakes/Lagoons, with a focus on Te Roto o Wairewa (Lake Forsyth)
    Iaean Cranwell - Ngāi Tahu - Indigenous Tribe from South Island of New Zealand

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    Darling River Catastrophe: can we fix it?
    Martin Mallen-Cooper - Charles Sturt University (CSU), OzFish Unlimited, Fishway Consulting Services, Australia

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    Papua New Guinea, the Wallace Line and the transition to Indonesia
    Arif Wibowo - Research Institute for Inland Fisheries and Extensions, IFRDMD/SEAFDEC, Indonesia

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    Wrap Up
    Lee Baumgartner (moderator) - Charles Sturt University (CSU), Australia

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Eastern Asia status and trends
    Zeb Hogan - University of Nevada, USA

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    Japan: removing dams for pink salmon
    Hirokazu Urabe - Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Research Institute, Japan

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    Current ecological issues of major rivers in South Korea - Nakdong River
    Gae-Jae Joo - Pusan National University, South Korea

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    Taimen Conservation in Delgermoron River Northern Mongolia
    Gankhuyag Balbar and Tuguldur Enkhtsetseg - TNC, Mongolia

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    The Yangtze, 18 years of Conservation Programme
    Xinqiao Zhang - WWF, China

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    Wonders of the Mekong program
    Seila Chea - Wonders of the Mekong project, Cambodia

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    Wrap Up
    Erin Loury (moderator) - FishBio, USA

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Central and South Asia status and trends

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    The Amur River and the protection of its salmon
    Olga Cheblukova - WWF Russia-Amur Branch, Russia

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    Golden Opportunities: Conserving Mahseer in Bhutan and the region
    Julie Claussen - Fisheries Conservation Foundation, USA

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    India: the importance of fish
    Derek Dzousa - Mahseer Trust & All India Game Fishing Association, India

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    Refugees and refugia of desiccated Aral Sea ichthyofauna (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
    Bakhtiyor Karimov - Academy of Science of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan

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    Wrap Up
    Ruben van Treeck (moderator) - IGB Berlin, Germany

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Western Asia status and trends
    Jörg Freyhof - Natural History Museum of Berlin, Germany

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    Migratory fishes of Turkey
    Devrim Memis - Istanbul University, Turkey

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    West Arabia: The most unkown rivers in the world
    Nashat Hamidan - Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), Jordan

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    Between two seas: Kura River
    Jörg Freyhof - Natural History Museum of Berlin, Germany

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    -

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    Jordan River Basin: Contemplate history in its purest state
    Tarek Abulhawa - Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), Jordan

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    Wrap Up
    Ruben van Treeck (moderator) - IGB Berlin, Germany

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Africa status and trends: River restoration and fish migration in Africa
    Gordon O’Brien - University of Mpumalanga, South Africa

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    Eels in Africa
    Emmanuel Mbaru - Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kenya

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    The Nile Basin Initiative
    Abdulkarim H Seid - Nile Basin Initative, Uganda

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    The Luangwa River: One of the longest remaining free-rivers in Africa
    Sililo Agness Musutus - WWF, Zambia

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    Niger River: Anthropogenic activities and threats to fish fauna
    Philippe Laleye - University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin

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    Saving Sandfish: Rescuing one of South Africa's most threatened freshwater fish
    Jeremy Shelton - Freshwater Research Center (FRCSA), South Africa

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    Introduction to the Water Fund: Relevance of river connectivity & river restoration to water security in Africa
    Louise Strafford - TNC, Africa

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    Wrap Up
    Peter Limbu (moderator) and Gordon O’Brien (Wrap Up) - TNC and University of Mpumalanga

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Europe status and trends: What we know and don’t know when mapping Swimways
    William Darwall - IUCN, UK

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    Reconnecting Europe’s Rivers: where do we start?
    Carlos García de Leaniz - Swansea University, AMBER, UK

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    As the sturgeon swims- why we need a combination of open migration corridors, in situ protection and ex situ conservation to save the Danubes living fossils.
    Thomas Friedrich - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria

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    River Rhine - Restoring fish migration in the former sewer of Europe
    Marc de Rooy -Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, The Netherlands

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    Ätran Dam removal (Falkenberg, Sweden)
    Olle Calles - Karlstad University, Sweden

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    Restoring 3000 km of free flowing river in Estonia. Meet the biggest European river restoration project.
    Külli Tammur - Environment Agency, Estonia

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    Wrap Up

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    South America status and trends
    Luiz Gustavo M. Silva - Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, MG, Brasil and Stocker lab, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich

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    Magdalena River: The sustenance of a whole country
    Luz Fernanda Jiménez - University of Antioquia, Colombia

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    Marañón River: The source of the biggest river in the world
    Christel Scheske and Bruno Monteferri - Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, Peru

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    Upper Amazon
    Paul Van Damme - Institute for Applied Research on Aquatic Resources FAUNAGUA, University of Mayor de San Simón (UMSS), Bolivia

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    The beginning of upstream migration of freshwater fish in the Amazon River
    Ronaldo Borges Barthem - Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi- Belém-PA-Brazil, Brazil

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    Parana Basin: El Corredor Azul (Argentina)
    Claudio Baigún - Wetlands International, Argentina

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    The Baker and other large rivers in Chilean Patagonia
    Claudio Meier - The University of Memphis, USA

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    Wrap Up
    Luiz Gustavo M. Silva (moderator) - Universidade Federal de São João Del Rei, Australia

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean: status and trends
    Topis Contreras Macbeth - FFSG, Mexico

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    The big unkown migrators: Shrimps
    Omar Pérez - Puerto Rico University, Puerto Rico

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    Rivers and fishes of a biodiversity hotspot in the Northern Neotropics
    Caleb McMahan and Diego Elias - Field Museum, LSU Museum of Natural Science, USA

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    The magnificent travelers along the Usumacinta and their challenges
    Yasmin Quintana - Texas A&M University (TAMU), Guatemala

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    From Ridge to Reef: Exploring Honduran fish diversity and trends
    Claudia Lardizabal - National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), Honduras

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    Sixaola, Estrella, Changuinola Rivers: Connecting the Continental Devide to the Ocean
    Bill Mclarney - ANAI Association, USA and Costa Rica

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    Wrap Up
    Topis Contreras Macbeth (moderator), FFSG, Mexico

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    INTRO: GLOBAL SWIMWAYS
    Arjan Berkhuysen - World Fish Migration Foundation, The Netherlands

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    USA & Canada status and trends
    Steve Cooke - Carleton University, Canada

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    Opening up rivers in the USA through the National Fish Passage program
    Eric MacMillan - FFish and Aquatic Conservation , USFWS, USA

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    Fish migration into ephemeral ground waters: spawing in pastures and forests
    Bernie R. Kuhajda - Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, USA

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    We Are Salmon People: Reconnecting the Broken Salmon Trail
    Karlie Knight and Dennis Zimmerman - Yukon First Nation, Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, Canada

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    Bonnevillle Fish Passage Center and it's role in the Columbia River Swimway
    Ben Hausmann - Bonneville Power Administration, USA

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    The River herrings are back. Local experiences from Plymouth (Mass) after removing 6 dams
    Dave Gould - Town of Plymouth, USA

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    Hawaii: river situation and fish passage
    Gordon Smith - Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife, USFWS, USA

 

Program highlights

 

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