This species is closely-related to the Ohrid Gudgeon (Gobio ohridanus), and the taxonomy of gudgeons inhabiting the Western Balkans has not been fully-resolved (Geiger et al. 2014, Shumka et al. 2018, Grapci-Kotori et al. 2020).

Global and European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Vulnerable (VU°)

The Skadar Gudgeon does not approach the range thresholds for Vulnerable under Criterion B (extent of occurrence (EOO) < 20,000 km^², area of occupancy (AOO) < 2,000 km²) or D2. Although the population trend may be decreasing as a result of habitat degradation, the rate of decline is not understood to approach the threshold for Vulnerable under Criterion A (≥ 30% over the past ten years or three generations). The population size is believed to exceed 10,000 individuals, hence it does not approach the thresholds for Criteria C or D. There exists no quantitative analysis which would permit application of Criterion E.

Therefore, this species does not currently approach the thresholds for any Red List criteria, and it is assessed as Least Concern at the global and European regional scales.

In the EU 27 member states, the EOO is c. 1,296 km^² and it occurs at one location where habitat quality is estimated to be declining. However, the single identified subpopulation is contiguous with a larger subpopulation occupying a transboundary river system, so its assessment is downlisted by one category from Endangered to Vulnerable under Criterion B (B1ab(iii)).

This species is endemic to the Western Balkans region, where its range extends from the Bojana (sq. Bunë) River in Montenegro and northern Albania to the Vjosa (el. Αώος/Aoös) River in southern Albania and Greece, including the Lake Skadar (sq. Liqeni i Shkodrës; cnr. Skadarsko jezero) basin.

It is absent from the upper reaches of rivers draining to Lake Skadar, including the isolated Nikšić polje in the upper Zeta River catchment, and the Lake Ohrid (sq. Liqeni i Ohrit; mk. Охридско Езеро) basin, while the precise limits of its range in the Drin (sq. Drini; mk. Дрим) River system are currently unclear.

This species' population size is unknown, but is understood to exceed the minimum threshold for Red List criteria (< 10,000 mature individuals). The current population trend has not been quantified, and the number of subpopulations is unclear.

Field observations over the past 10-20 years indicate that site-scale abundance declines have occurred in some parts of its range, e.g., affluents in the Lake Skadar catchment, Montenegro, and the Shkumbini River, Albania (see 'Threats').

In the EU 27 member states, a single subpopulation is present in the upper Vjosa River, but it comprises part of a significantly larger subpopulation since its distribution is contiguous with the remainder of the system.

This benthic species mostly inhabits low-gradient tributary stream and river reaches with slow to moderate flow and substrata of sand, cobbles and boulders. It is not known to enter natural or artificial lakes.

It feeds primarily on benthic invertebrates, and the annual reproductive period is understood to extend from late spring to early summer.

This species is plausibly threatened by river regulation and other forms of anthropogenic habitat degradation throughout its range. In particular, the ongoing construction of large dams plus smaller weirs and other barriers has severely altered natural flow and sedimentation regimes, blocked migration routes, fragmented subpopulations, and reduced the extent of suitable habitat for all life stages. Hydroelectric schemes have created unnatural fluctuations in discharge and water temperature (hydropeaking and thermopeaking) which bring about artificial dewatering of downstream river stretches and loss of stable nursery habitat for juveniles. Furthermore, the combined effect of hydropeaking, dam flushing operations, changes in land use, and the removal of riparian vegetation has increased accumulation of fine sediments at some spawning sites, plausibly impairing the hatching and survival rates of eggs and larvae. Future plans include the installation of several dams on the Morača River in the Lake Skadar basin.

The quality of available habitat has been further diminished by bank stabilisation, channelisation and other efforts to enhance flood protection or exploit water resources for irrigated agriculture. Some habitats may also have been damaged by the industrial extraction of riverine gravel or other sediments for urban development.

This species is also threatened by diffuse and point source agricultural, domestic and industrial pollution, which has at some locations reduced the extent and quality of habitat due to eutrophication, siltation or discharge of toxic substances. Pollution can be particularly impactful when river discharge is reduced during the summer. In the Lake Skadar basin, the Morača River is polluted due to discharge of agricultural, domestic and industrial contaminants, the majority of which originate from Nikšić Polje, the Bjelopavlići Valley and city of Podgorica. Plastics and other solid wastes are regularly washed into the lake because effective landfill sites are limited or do not meet modern standards. In the EU 27 member states the majority of this species' range is located in a stretch of the upper Vjosa River which flows through an extensively-cultivated upland plateau, where it receives diffuse and point-source pollution from surrounding agriculture and a nearby town, respectively.

A number of non-native fish species have been introduced to Lake Skadar, including Goldfish (Carassius auratus), Common Carp (Cyprinus domestic strain), Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), Eurasian Tench (Tinca tinca), Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis), Eurasian Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), Topmouth Gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva), Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). All of these taxa are considered to be invasive throughout the Mediterranean region, and can exert detrimental pressures on native freshwater fauna through increased competition, predation or habitat degradation. The congeneric Danube Gudgeon (Gobio obtusirostris) has been introduced to some areas within its range, and there is a plausible threat of introgressive hybridisation between the two species.

This species is not used or traded.

No specific conservation management plan exists, although this species is nationally assessed as Vulnerable in both Albania and Montenegro.

The North Macedonian portion of Lake Ohrid has been included in UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites since 1979, while a bilateral agreement between Albania and North Macedonia resulted in establishment of the Ohrid Watershed Management Committee in 2004 and the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in 2014. At the national scale a number of additional protected sites have been created around the lake, including the Pogradec Aquatic and Terrestrial Protected Landscape and Drilon National Monument in Albania, and the Lake Ohrid Monument of Nature and Galicica National Park in North Macedonia. In April 2021 Lake Ohrid was added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

The Montenegrin part of Lake Skadar was declared a National Park in 1983 and designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1995, while the Albanian portion was nationally-protected and added to the Ramsar Convention in 2005. The lower Zeta River in Montenegro has been a protected area since 2019.

In 2023, the entire Vjosa River catchment was designated as Europe's first Wild River National Park. A number of sites in the upper Vjosa, Greece, are additionally included in the European Union's Natura 2000 network.

The Skadar Gudgeon is also present within the boundaries of several protected areas in the Drin River system.

A deeper understanding of this species' present distribution, abundance, population dynamics, life history and response to the ongoing threats would likely prove beneficial in the design of any structured management plan.