Some Philippine freshwater fish may already be gone

Eight endemic species brought into focus through digital art.

Eight endemic Philippine freshwater fish are getting a spotlight from digital creator Ferd Torres, whose latest artwork highlights species that face threats ranging from habitat destruction to competition from introduced fish.

The artwork is only a small sample of the country’s freshwater biodiversity, with more than half of the eight featured species already considered threatened, according to Torres.

“Knowing the Philippines as a biodiversity hotspot and one of the megadiverse countries, it is only right na we learn about them,” Torres told radar Business.

Although he graduated with a degree in Applied Mathematics, Torres said he had been fascinated by wildlife and nature since childhood, particularly the illustrations found in field guides and encyclopedias.

In 2023, he decided to take his art more seriously and focus on Philippine biodiversity, describing it as a return to that childhood fascination.

“Nung 2023, parang sabi ko sa sarili ko na I want to take my art more seriously, like the direction, style and ano gusto ko i-illustrate or gawan ng art kaya I began focusing on Philippine biodiversity, rekindling that childhood fascination,” he said.

His interest in highlighting lesser-known species also led him to research the threats facing Philippine freshwater fish. His research, which drew on data from FishBase, the world’s largest online database for finfish species, pointed to the scale of losses in some Philippine waters.

Lake Lanao once supported 18 endemic cyprinid species, but a 2020 International Union for Conservation of Nature study found that 15 had not been recorded for more than 30 years and were considered critically endangered and possibly extinct. Among them were the dipura or pait (Barbodes amarus), baolan (B. baoulan), and bagangan or manalak (B. clemensi).

More than a dozen endemic fish have already disappeared from Lake Lanao alone.

Introduced species are another pressure on native fish, with FishBase identifying Nile tilapia as an introduced species in the Philippines and noting its possible role in the decline of endemic Lake Lanao fish.

The release of tilapia fingerlings into inland waters is another concern, with non-native fish competing with native species for food and habitat while smaller native fish can become prey.

“It’s frustrating to see how species that are found nowhere else in the world can disappear from our waters, sometimes without receiving nearly as much attention as our more familiar terrestrial and marine wildlife,” Torres wrote.

That lack of attention was part of what pushed Torres to put these fish on a platform where more people could see them.

Torres said reactions from people discovering these species for the first time have encouraged him to keep making and sharing his artwork.

“Every time I post something on the internet and people comment or reshare it with a caption like ‘May ganito pala tayo sa Pinas?’ Mas motivated ako to create more and share it to others because it’s a way to raise awareness of our natural heritage,” he said.

For Torres, the artwork is also meant to make people curious about species they may have never encountered.

“Sabi nga sa isang quote na ‘we cannot protect something we do not love, we cannot love what we do not know,’ and I believe na my personal advocacy of sharing wildlife through art is the start of that knowing,” he added.

Creating the pieces requires more than drawing, with Torres saying research can take up more than a quarter of the creative process before the artwork itself begins.

“Effort in doing the research, probably this is more than one-fourth of the entire creative process, and effort in presenting a species na, although simple, if I lean towards the simple style, ay andun pa rin yung essence niya and well-represented pa rin siya,” he said.

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