One species.
Every year.
Not a one-
time thing.
The Fish Wish Project isn't just about the arapaima. It's a model. Every year, Joey picks a different threatened or endangered freshwater fish. He learns everything about it. He raises awareness. He finds a real scientist working to protect it. And he shines a light on their work.
Year 1 is the arapaima. Year 2 will be a different fish. Year 3, another. The list of threatened freshwater species is long — 1 in 3 freshwater fish is threatened with extinction. Joey has a lot of years ahead of him.
The model is simple because it has to be. One kid. One fish. One year. Repeat. The goal isn't to solve the whole problem. The goal is to do something real, every year, for as long as it takes.
Joey chooses a threatened or endangered freshwater fish species. The criteria: it has to be real, the threat has to be real, and there has to be a scientist actively working to protect it.
He reads the papers. Watches the documentaries. Builds the file. By the time he starts raising awareness, he knows the species better than most adults who've heard of it.
He tracks down the researcher doing the real work. Not a general organization. A specific person, doing specific fieldwork, on the specific fish he chose. He learns their work and amplifies it.
This website. Telling anyone who will listen. Every person who learns about the fish is a win. Every conversation is another person who now knows this species exists — and why it matters.
A new fish. A new scientist. The same commitment. Year after year, for as long as there are threatened freshwater fish that need someone in their corner.