Specie rară de pește european, în pericol: 76% trăiesc pe 450 de metri din râul Vâlsan. „Fie îl salvăm acum, fie îl pierdem pentru totdeauna”

Recent monitoring revealed only 150 specimens of the rare fish species Romanichthys valsanicola in the Vâlsan River, with 114 found in a short 450-meter stretch. Major threats include pollution, artificial barriers, and insufficient ecological flow. The population is concentrated in a vulnerable area, exacerbated by a non-functional wastewater treatment plant and a concrete barrier hindering fish movement. A project aims to remove barriers and restore habitats, while a new initiative seeks to monitor and repopulate the species. The fish, discovered in Romania in 1956, is critically endangered and now only exists in the Vâlsan River.