‘Water Woman’ wants to save the Nigerian killifish: ‘It’s now or never’

Olabisi Atofarati conducts scientific research into killifish and pufferfish in southern Nigeria. When she discovered that these freshwater fish were threatened with extinction, due to exploitation for the international ornamental fish trade, she became an activist as well as a scientist.

Olabisi and the local communities in Cross River

Biologist Olabisi Atofarati is the winner of the 2026 Future For Nature Award. In the Cross River region in southern Nigeria, she is conducting research using water samples, employing methods such as environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. Olabisi was spending days wading through the shallow rainforest pools in Crocs and skinny jeans (‘the best protection against leeches’), wearing blue gloves and taking small water samples. The local people living along the rivers started to notice her and she came to be known as the ‘water woman’.

Cross River, Nigeria, consists of one of the oldest rainforests in Africa and ranks among the top twenty-five biodiversity hotspots on Earth, a list compiled by the United Nations. Towards the Atlantic coast, the Cross River branches out through the jungle into a maze of streams, pools and waterfalls. This makes her work physically demanding. Olabisi: “It is a magnificent area, but there are very few roads running through it. Traveling from one research site to another can take several hours by motorcycle.” The remoteness of the region is one of the reasons why many of its freshwater fish species remain poorly studied.

Her work is not only geographically challenging. Women remain underrepresented in field-based conservation science in many parts of rural Nigeria, and conducting research in remote riverine communities often requires building trust gradually over time.  Olabisi became a familiar figure in the communities and increasingly involved villagers directly in her fieldwork, even taking some community members into the rivers and wetlands to participate in biodiversity surveys and discussions about conservation.

Pufferfish and Scheeli killifish

The Cross River pufferfish (Tetraodon pustulatus) is a yellow-green fish with red spots that grows to about 40 cm. An intelligent predator, it can move its eyes independently and inflates into a ball when threatened. Its organs contain the deadly nerve poison tetrodotoxin. In Japan, Korea and China, pufferfish is a popular delicacy, despite the risks associated with eating it if not prepared correctly. The Cross River pufferfish is not eaten, but it is popular among aquarium keepers for its distinctive appearance and rarity, sometimes selling for hundreds of dollars.

After her successful work to help protect the endemic and endangered Cross River pufferfish, Olabisi is now focusing her conservation efforts on the Scheeli killifish (Fundulopanchax scheeli). This is a much smaller but equally colorful little fish, which is also popular with aquarium keepers and is critically endangered because of that. Killifish are so shy and small that they dart away whenever Olabisi approaches through the water on Crocs. For her research, that is not a problem: environmental DNA utilizes the fact that the water ‘remembers’ the fish, because they leave traces in the water.

Threats: aquarium trade and pollution

Nigeria’s ornamental fish trade has expanded considerably in recent years. Both the pufferfish and killifish are sought after in the international aquarium trade. But a ban on the aquarium trade alone is not enough to protect Nigeria’s freshwater fish. The river basins in which they swim are also threatened by pollution. Pesticides used in palm oil and mango plantations leach out and end up in the rivers.

At the national level, ornamental fish exports are often viewed primarily as an economic opportunity, while concerns about the long-term impacts on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems receive far less attention. By spending a lot of time on fieldwork, Olabisi saw up close how the aquarium trade works. At the beginning of the trade chain, fishers in local communities receive only a small fraction of the final market value of the fish. Olabisi: “Middlemen travel to indigenous riverine communities deep within the forest. Young people, especially those facing economic hardship, are often persuaded by the small amount of money offered for a single fish.” Olabisi therefore wants to use her FFN Award prize money to help the communities along the river find alternative sources of income.

‘My strength really lies in consistency’

Olabisi: “I went to the traditional leaders of indigenous communities along the rivers and said: if you don’t take action now, the fish will soon be gone. It is now or never.”

Most ornamental fish are still collected directly from the wild, although small-scale captive breeding is gradually increasing. Recognizing that national-level policy change could take years, Olabisi focused on community-based conservation. She continued visiting communities across the Cross River basin until traditional leaders collectively ban harvesting the Cross River pufferfish. Olabisi: “In many of these indigenous communities, traditional authorities have a far more immediate influence than distant national regulations.” As part of the community-led conservation agreement, a hefty fine may be imposed on individuals caught trading the species illegally.

Olabisi: “My strength really lies in consistency. At first, some people looked at me with suspicion, but I kept returning and continuing the conversation about the fish.” She also worked closely with women’s groups, who later played an important role in encouraging their families and communities to support protection of the species. Rather than presenting conservation only through scientific language, Olabisi focused on emotional connection, local stewardship, and lived ecological experience.

Olabisi: “I did not want to impose my views simply as a scientist. The communities already knew these rivers intimately, and many had noticed themselves that the pufferfish was becoming increasingly rare. The possibility of losing a species they had known for generations deeply affected them.”

Scientist and activist

Olabisi : “Memory also plays a central role in my research, because by documenting and mapping the genetic identity of these species, I am helping to preserve a biological record of fishes that might otherwise disappear unnoticed.” She hopes to inspire enough future biologists to also dedicate themselves to the little-researched freshwater fish of Nigeria: “Ultimately, we can only protect what we know.”