In Sweden, sea-neon eyes have mainly been found along the West Coast and along the coasts of Skåne and Blekinge. The largest stock has lived in Halland where extensive inventories have been carried out over the past five years.

Decreases sharply

In 2015, playing sea neon eyes were found in a total of twenty streams. In 2017, the species was found in twelve streams, which fell to nine in 2018. In the 2019 inventory, the species was found in only two streams. During the 2000s, sea neon eyes in Skåne have been recorded in only a single river.

For the past two summers, the county administrative board has searched for sea neon eyes in the watercourses in northwestern Skåne. Neither larvae nor traces of playful sea neon eyes have been found, however, a few dead fish in the Rössjöholmsån river north of Ängelholm.

- We fear that sea neon eyes will disappear completely from our county, if it is not already gone, says Anna Fohrman at the County Administrative Board of Skåne, in a press release on Thursday.

National action program

During the month of October, the Marine and Water Authority will establish a national action program for sea neonates, for concrete measures to save the species, is needed immediately.

"Different measures need to be taken to break the negative trend for sea neonate, which is a species with specific requirements in an environment that is severely affected by humans," says Michael Diemer of the Marine and Water Authority.

Problems in the marine environment

Conservation work has already begun and in recent years the county administrative boards have funded extensive biotope improvement measures in several of the watercourses where the species has previously existed.

- The decline in recent years is very worrying. In recent decades, measures have been taken in the waterways that should have benefited the sea neon eye. The fact that the population continues to decline makes it possible to suspect major problems in the marine environment, says Mikael Svensson at SLU ArtDatabanken.