Joe Cutler

As a child, I followed my grandfather and parents out to streams, lakes, and the rocky coast in central California to go fishing. In those days, our catch seemed endlessly abundant, but over the past 30 years I have watched fisheries decline, and species disappear. Globally, our oceans are overexploited, and there are too few healthy streams, wetlands, and lakes. Freshwater ecosystems cover less than 0.1 percent of Earth’s surface but are home to nearly 25 percent of all vertebrate biodiversity. Alarmingly, freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered, and nearly 33 percent of all freshwater fish are threatened with extinction.

I have collected many undescribed fish, and there is nothing more exciting than pulling a net through the shallow waters of a new habitat. I am often among the first scientists to survey a stream or lake. In 2017, my team discovered Enteromius pinnimaculatus, a small minnow with a unique polka-dot dorsal fin found only in the Louetsi River in southern Gabon. Our research resulted in dam relocation, protecting this and other species from possible extinction. By combining my research with outreach, I have been able to impact policy in Cameroon and Gabon to promote protection of freshwater ecosystems. In Gabon, there is a newly launched effort to protect 30 percent of freshwater ecosystems by 2030, and the data I collected helps to determine where new protected areas will be located. In Cameroon, volcanic crater lakes are better protected due to my research and outreach both in the local community and internationally.

My hope is that by exploring, documenting, and describing the richness of freshwater biodiversity, I can give freshwaters a voice and inspire conservation of fishes and aquatic ecosystems both in sub-Saharan Africa and around the globe. I dream that future generations will play by creeks, catch a fish or two, and drink straight from a healthy river.