Four criteria must be satisfied to ensure the species no longer needs the protection:
- Present wild populations must be made secure by reducing existing and potential threats to the greatest extent possible, and population size must be considered stable or increasing.
- Viable wild populations have been re-established in the most natural habitats within the native range (sensu Hendrickson & Brooks 1991). No new population will be considered established until the population has persisted for a minimun of ten years.
- Protection and establishment of Refugium populations (Minckley & Deacon 1991).
- Correct conservation plans should recognize the established conservation units and should be managed separately, promoting the use of natural stocks as sources of genetic diversity (Perdices et al. 2001) and the use of wild stocks to initiate captive breeding programmes (Schönhuth et al. 2002).
Remarks
A.iberus recovery will depend on the coordination of social, economic and political actions in the Spanish Mediterranean area. The participation of conservationist organizations could be essential.
Educational and information programmes are strongly important, in this way it could be remarkable the edition of the Iberian Cyprinodontids Monography (Planelles 1999).