The fish fauna of the Neretva river basin in the western Balkans is representative of the Dinaric karst region and characterized by several endemic and endangered species.
Overall the Dinaric karst water systems support 25% of the total of 546 fish species in Europe.
The river Neretva and its tributaries represent the main drainage system in the east Adriatic watershed and the foremost ichthyofaunal habitat of the region. The Adriatic basin has 88 species of fish, of which 44 are Mediterranean endemic species, and 41 are Adriatic endemic species. More than half of the Adriatic river basin species of fish inhabit the Neretva, the Ombla, the Trebišnjica, the Morača Rivers and their tributaries, and more than 30 are indigenous.[1]
The degree of endemism in the karst ecoregion is greater than 10% of the total number of fish species. Numerous species live in very narrow and limited areas and are vulnerable, so they are included on the Red List of endangered fish of the IUCN.
According to Smith & Darwall (2006) the Neretva River, together with four other areas in the Mediterranean, has the largest number of threatened freshwater fish species.[2]
^Skaramuca, Boško; Dulčić, Jakov, eds. (2008). Endangered and endemic species of fish in the basins of the Neretva river, Trebišnjica and Morača. Dubrovnik: Sveučilište u Dubrovniku; EastWest Institute. pp. 43–46. ISBN 978-953-7153-18-2.
^Darwall W.; Carrizo S.; Numa C.; Barrios V.; Freyhof J.; Smith K. (2014). "Freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas in the Mediterranean Basin Hotspot" (PDF). Freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) - Mediterranean - IUCN. Site Collection Documents (in English, Bosnian, French, and Arabic). IUCN. Archived from the original (.pdf) on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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