Global and European regional assessment: Vulnerable (VU)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Recorded

The Skadar Rudd has a restricted range (extent of occurrence (EOO) c. 6,579 km²), which meets the threshold for the Vulnerable category under Criterion B1 (EOO < 20,000 km²). It is present at four locations where the extent and quality of habitat are estimated to be declining.

Therefore, this species is assessed as Vulnerable under Criterion B (B1ab(iii)).

This species is endemic to the Skadar (sq. Liqeni i Shkodrës; cnr. Skadarsko jezero) and Ohrid (sq. Liqeni i Ohrit; mk. Охридско Езеро) lake basins in the Western Balkans. There are no records from the Black Drin (sq. Drini i Zi; mk. Црн Дрим) River system, which links the two lakes. In the Lake Skadar catchment, it is present in the affluent Crnojevića River and Malo Blato wetland, plus the outflowing Bojana (sq. Bunë) River and the associated Lake Šas (sq. Liqeni i Shasit).

Introduced subpopulations are established in the artificial Li­verovići accumulation lake in the upper Zeta River catchment, Montenegro, and the semi-artificial Vlasina reservoir in the Danube River system, southeastern Serbia.

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.

Oligotrophic and oligomictic lakes Ohrid and Skadar represent major biodiversity hotspots and support a wide range of endemic aquatic fauna.

Lake Ohrid is of tectonic origin and is considered to be the oldest extant lake in Europe with an age of c. 2-3 million years. Its surface area is c. 358 km² and it has a maximum depth of c. 289 metres (average depth c. 164 metres). The lake receives almost 50% of its water from two main surface springs located at its southern end and numerous sub-lacustrine (underwater) springs along its eastern shoreline, all of which are fed by subterranean karstic conduits draining the adjacent Lake Prespa basin. There are a number of additional sub-lacustrine springs along the western side. There are also four perennial tributary rivers which drive small fluctuations of the lake’s surface level in late spring or following heavy rainfall. The lake drains towards the Adriatic Sea via the Black Drin (sq. Drini i Zi; mk. Црн Дрим) River, which originates at its northern tip, and it loses significant volumes of water (c. 40%) via evaporation. Ohrid is considered to be among the most diverse ancient lakes in the world in terms of endemic species richness.

Lake Skadar is the most extensive freshwater wetland in the Balkan region, with a surface area that seasonally fluctuates between c. 370 km² and c. 530 km². It is situated in a tectonic karstic cryptodepression and is rather shallow, with an average depth of c. 5 metres and maximum depth of c. 60 metres. The lake is fed by numerous sub-lacustrine karstic springs which are distributed around its periphery, and a series of affluent rivers of which the largest is the Morača. It drains to the Adriatic Sea via the short Bojana River, which also receives water from the Drin (sq. Drini; mk. Дрим) River and thus connects the system to Lake Ohrid. The precise origin of the lake remains unclear to an extent, but it is understood to have comprised a much larger wetland until c. 1,200 years ago. It is considerably more productive than Lake Ohrid in terms of fish biomass.

The Skadar Rudd reportedly inhabits relatively shallow littoral habitats in the vicinity of macrophyte beds, and does not enter lotic environments. During the winter it may aggregate in areas influenced by sub-lacustrine springs, where the water temperature remains relatively constant throughout the year.

It feeds primarily on higher plants and organic detritus.

The maximum recorded lifespan is c. 13 years. The annual reproductive period extends from March to June and generally coincides with water temperatures rising above 16°C. During this time reproductive adults congregate in littoral and flooded areas along the northern and eastern shorelines of Lake Ohrid, and northern, north-eastern and eastern parts of Lake Skadar. Spawning itself tends to occur among aquatic vegetation in shallow (< 1 metre depth) water.

Most rivers entering lakes Ohrid and Skadar flow through areas undergoing rapid human population growth and urbanisation with insufficient water treatment systems. The lake ecosystems are thus threatened by accumulation of anthropogenic nutrients, chemicals and sediment loads from a variety of sources, including untreated domestic sewage, industry and agriculture, which are driving increased rates of eutrophication and sedimentation with an array of negative impacts on the composition of plant and animal communities.

The development of tourist facilities, increased boat traffic, and ongoing capture and pollution of karstic springs in the two basins are also of concern. Plastics and other solid wastes are regularly washed into the lakes because effective landfill sites are limited or do not meet modern standards.

In Lake Ohrid, excessive water abstraction and eutrophication in neighbouring Lake Prespa, which which it shares a subterranean hydraulic karstic connection, is believed to be partially responsible for increasing nutrient levels. In addition, the nearby Sateska River was in 1962 diverted from its former confluence with the Drin River into Lake Ohrid in order to improve the water balance of the lake and enhance its potential for hydropower generation. However, the Sateska has since become a major source of biochemical oxygen demand and sediments transported into the lake.

An observed decline in the abundance of native fishes in Lake Skadar since the mid-20^th century has been attributed to a series of factors. In particular, the construction of large hydropower dams on the Drin River has interfered with seasonal fluctuations in the lake's water level and reduced the extent of spawning and nursery habitat. Future plans include the installation of several dams on the inflowing Morača River, which supplies c. 62% of the lake's water. Furthermore, the lower Morača 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. The lake has thus become increasingly eutrophic since the 1970s, and this process has driven structural changes in the resident planktonic and zoobenthic communities. A number of non-native fish species have been introduced, 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, habitat degradation or transmission of pathogens.

Overfishing may constitute an additional threat, but this has not been extensively-studied.

This species is a secondary component of the Skadar and Ohrid commercial fisheries, which are dominated by native Skadar Bleak (Alburnus scoranza) and introduced Common Carp (Cyprinus domestic strain). Nevertheless, up to 10 tonnes are reportedly landed in Lake Skadar per year. It is consumed both fresh and smoked, or preserved in cans.

No coordinated conservation management plan exists, although in Lake Ohrid a closed fishing season is established in the Republic of North Macedonia, and minimum catch sizes are in place throughout the basin.

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 the Republic of 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 the Republic of North Macedonia. In April 2021, Lake Ohrid was added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance (site no. 2449).

The Montenegrin part of Lake Skadar was declared a National Park in 1983 and designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1995 (site no. 784), while the Albanian portion was nationally-protected and added to the Ramsar Convention in 2006 (site no. 1598).

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.