WWF has produced a new documentary on the Madeira River:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2010/WWFPresitem15303.html

Please also check out the latest installment of “Monster Fish” Monday August 2, 2o10 at 10pm.  The episode “Jungle Catfish” focuses on the Rio Roosevelt and Rio Madeira. 

Dr. Zeb Hogan teams up with experts to explore a forbidding 400-mile-long river: the Rio Roosevelt. They’ll have to navigate Class V rapids, avoid potentially violent tribesmen and survive in one of the most unforgiving places on the planet. The team hopes to find giant piranhas, painted catfish and perhaps even a new species of fish unknown to science.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/monster-fish/4767/Overview#ixzz0vRLn2ugf

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/giant-stingray-350-kilogram-catfish-threatened-by-mekong-dams-wwf-says.html

 And the report can be found here:

 http://assets.panda.org/downloads/new_river_of_giants_report_14_may_2010_web_version.pdf

In Monster Fish, premiering with a sneak peak on Sunday, July 18, at 10 p.m. ET/PT before moving to its regular night and time, Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning, Monday, July 19, fish biologist, conservationist and National Geographic explorer Zeb Hogan continues his five-year mission to find and research the world’s largest freshwater fish. He investigates flying fish from Asia that are invading America’s waterways like zombies in a B movie; goes in search of one of North America’s toothiest and most misunderstood monster fish, the alligator gar; and navigates Class V rapids on a quest to locate a new species in one of the most unforgiving environments on the planet.

 http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/templates/details.aspx?articleid=5384&zoneid=14

The World Conservation Union recently announced that over 1,000 freshwater fish are threatened with extinction:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091103/sc_afp/environmentbiodiversityspeciesiucn

The freshwater sawfish is featured on the first of two new Megafish shows this month on the National Geographic Channel.  The first show, “Monster Fish of Australia”, premieres Monday, Oct. 19.  The freshwater sawfish, Pristis microdon, can grow to 23 feet long. It has a long, flat snout and from 14 to 22 razor sharp “teeth” on the outside of the snout.  Some say it looks like a cross between a shark, a stingray and a chainsaw.  Together with local scientists, Dr. Zeb Hogan takes a dangerous journey 150 miles up the Fitzroy River, encountering saltwater crocodiles, bull sharks and giant stingrays along the way, as they seek to tag, study, and protect this endangered and bizarre-looking predator.

Animals and plants living in freshwaters are most at risk of extinction:

 http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59A1QS20091011

Scientists found the extinction rates for freshwater species were four to six times higher than for their terrestrial and marine counterparts. 

Beginning on September 1st, a new rule takes effect in Texas limiting catch of alligator gar to one per day per angler.  No limit existed before the change.

 http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/world-100336-protection-alligator.html

Freshwater fish at the top of the food chain may evolve more slowly than fishes at lower trophic levels:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090728125824.htm

Join Zeb Hogan on his search for the world’s largest freshwater fish.  The program features 10 of the largest and most endangered freshwater fish on Earth, including sawfish, taimen, Mekong giant catfish, white sturgeon, alligator gar, and Chinese paddlefish.