World Fish Migration Day 2024: Discover its Interesting History and Facts

World Fish Migration Day 2024: World Fish Migration Day occurs every other year on May 21. It is the purpose of this worldwide commemoration to bring attention to the significance of free-flowing rivers and migratory fish. Ornithological organizations worldwide organize their activities on this day with the overarching theme of “Connecting People, Rivers, and Fish.”

The purpose of the day is to increase public consciousness regarding the significance of migratory fish. Additionally, it motivates individuals to engage in efforts aimed at conserving freshwater species.

World Fish Migration Day: History

Many species of fish migrate to complete their life cycles, reproduce, and feed. These organisms contribute significantly to the maintenance of productive and healthy river systems and are essential components of the food chain. Furthermore, millions of individuals across the globe depend on them for sustenance. Migratory fish have ecological, economic, and cultural significance in addition to their recreational value. Nonetheless, currently, the ecology is being endangered or facing critical endangerment by numerous variants. Environmental conservationists established this day to draw attention to the significance of salmon migration and rivers.

Environmentalists work to identify workable resolutions concerning the restoration of salmon migration, the recovery of rivers, and the prevention of degradation. The threat of extinction for the migratory fish will worsen if we do not address these concerns. An excellent starting point for achieving this objective is to raise awareness and educate others about the current circumstances. Stakeholders and experts collaborate on World Fish Migration Day to identify and execute resolutions to the challenge at hand. Migratory fish migrate over short or long distances at various intervals. They traverse the oceans, migrate rivers upstream and downstream, or move between rivers and oceans. Swimways traverse numerous bodies of water for thousands of miles.

Frequent obstruction of fish migration routes by dams poses one of the greatest threats to swimways, preventing fish from reaching their spawning and feeding grounds. This will facilitate well-informed decision-making aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of infrastructure expansion on migratory fish. The World Fish Migration Foundation is currently initiating the delineation of hotspots and mapping of fish migration routes.  More than 40 countries hosted activities for the inaugural World Fish Migration Day in 2014. Since then, a variety of media has expanded the celebration’s influence to millions of individuals.

Endangered Species Day 2024 (US): Unknown Facts about Endangered Species

World Fish Migration Day: FAQs

Persist in providing examples of migratory fish.

A few examples of migratory fish include salmon, freshwater eels, sea trout, allis shad, Mekong giant catfish, American paddlefish, and bull sharks.

Which hashtags are associated with World Fish Migration Day?

The hashtags #WorldFishMigrationDay, #HappyFish and #BreakFree are associated with this day on social media.

What sorts of activities take place in observance of World Fish Migration Day?

Field trips and aquarium/museum exhibits, river cleanups, kayak excursions, movie screenings, citizen science laboratories, and global webinars are a few of the significant occasions that occur.

Five Interesting Fish Facts

1. Diadromous refers to the fact that sea-run fish spend a portion of their existence in saltwater and another portion in freshwater.
2. Similar to sharks, Atlantic sturgeon is cartilaginous; the majority of their skeleton is composed of cartilage as opposed to bones.
3. In Canada, Atlantic sturgeon have a maximum lifespan of sixty years; in the Southeast, their lifespan is only thirty-three.
4. The striped bass is the official state fish of Maryland. It is also referred to as the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, and rockfish.
5. Even at temperatures as low as 28°F, rainbow smelt fish do not freeze because proteins and glycerol in their blood, liver, muscle, and other tissues prevent freezing.

World Fish Migration Day: Dates

Year	Date	Day
2024	May 21	Tuesday
2025	May 21	Wednesday
2026	May 21	Thursday
2027	May 21	Friday
2028	May 21	Sunday

National Sea Monkey Day 2024 (US): History, Activities, and Facts about Sea Monkey