Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Vimba Bream (Vimba vimba) - Uncertain Risk

Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.

Vimba vimba, the Vimba Bream, is a cyprinid fish species native to Europe. Some populations inhabit freshwater, while others are semi-anadromous and inhabit brackish water, but move to freshwater rivers to spawn. V. vimba is used in commercial fisheries and has been introduced outside of its native range for this purpose. No negative impacts of introductions of this species have been documented, so the History of invasiveness is classified as Data Deficient. V. vimba has an overall high climate match with the contiguous United States. The areas of highest match were located in the Western United States and the Great Lakes Basin. This species migrates between marine and freshwater environments. Because not all locations in the United States are conducive to such migration, inland establishment of this species may be limited according to habitat connectivity. However, Vimba vimba is known to have landlocked populations that complete the lifecycle in freshwater. Certainty of this assessment is low because no information is available on negative impacts of introductions of this species. The overall risk assessment category for this species is therefore uncertain.