The genus Icthyophaga (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously spelled Ichthyophaga.

Icthyophaga ichthyaetus is classified as Near Threatened under A2cd+3cd+4cd. Although it has a large range the species is patchily distributed, and is suffering suspected population reductions of 20-29% over three generations, driven by a combination of habitat degradation and hunting.

I. ichthyaetus is widespread but generally scarce, occurring in peninsula and north-east India, Sri Lanka, Chitwan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, down to Myanmar, southern Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines (BirdLife International 2001, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Clarke et al. 2023). The species may occur in Java, Indonesia (MacKinnon and Phillipps 1993), but it is incredibly rare, having only been recorded twice since the 1990s (eBird 2024) and is likely only an occasional visitor.

There is little information on the population size of I. ichthyaetus. However, the population is likely not considerably large despite its expansive range (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). The species is considered rare and/or local in Nepal and Sri Lanka, uncommon and local in Bangladesh (Grimmett et al. 1998), and rare and scarce in Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia and Singapore (Robson 2000, BirdLife International 2001); it may now be extirpated entirely from Lao PDR (Timmins et al. in press). The species is considered rare across most of South-East Asia (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). The species is absent from the north and centre of Thailand, and disappearing from the north of Vietnam (from which there are almost no recent records: eBird 2024) and it is considered scarce in southern Thailand and Vietnam (Robson 2000). In Indonesia it is widely distributed but uncommon in Sumatra and Borneo (MacKinnon and Phillipps 1993). North-east India likely represents a stronghold for the species where it is considered widespread and frequent (Grimmett et al. 1998, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001).

There have however been few efforts to quantify population sizes. Several areas along the Mekong river in Cambodia were estimated to hold dozens of breeding pairs (Bezuijen et al. 2008), although the numbers appear to have drastically declined in Cambodia in recent years (Mittermeier et al. 2019). Miron and Chowdhury (2019) recorded 0.54 birds/km² in Noakhali District, Bangladesh, and Tingay et al. (2006) recorded one breeding pair every 2.5 km² in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. These two studies demonstrate two regions that support sufficient food sources and consequentially localised and abundant breeding populations. However, given the species is likely to congregate in preferred breeding habitat, and there is little known about its abundance across much of its range, it is not possible to extrapolate these estimates to provide an estimation of the total population size. Therefore, the population size is unknown.

I. ichthyaetus occurs in lowland forest, closely associated with large bodies of freshwater, particularly sluggish streams and large ponds, primarily below 300m (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Clark et al. 2023). The species also occurs locally up to 1,500m (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001), and also frequents rivers, reservoirs, marshes, seasonally flooded swamp-forest, mangrove swamps, coastal lagoons, and estuaries (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Tingay et al. 2010, Yong 2011). The species also occurs in highly modified habitats such as irrigation tanks (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001), and a large breeding population is present in close proximity to commercial waterbodies in Bangladesh (Miron and Chowdury 2019).

The species' diet consists primarily of fish, including dead fish (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Clark et al. 2023). At least part of the species' diet also consists of reptiles (Tingay et al. 2006, Yong et al. 2011, 2014), particularly water snakes appear an important food source in Cambodia (Tingay et al. 2006). May also feed on terrestrial birds and small mammals (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001).

Most consistently, I. ichthyaetus is threatened by widespread deforestation and degradation of its habitat, in addition to more localised threats such as pollution, overfishing, and trade (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Clarke et al. 2023). Across the entire range, there has been an estimated 28-33% loss of forest cover within the species range over the past three generations (Global Forest Watch 2024, based on data from Hansen et al. [2013] and methods disclosed therein). However, the species has demonstrated adaptability to human modified areas, breeding near commercial waterbodies (Miron and Chowdhury 2019) and feeding on introduced species (Yong 2011). Regardless, there have still been localised declines of the species. For example, the species seems to have declined rapidly along the Mekong River in Cambodia where selective logging for charcoal production, clearing for agriculture, and unsustainable fishing practices, are extensive (Mittermeier et al. 2019, BirdLife International 2024). Similarly, the species may potentially be extinct in Laos (Timmins et al. in press), or at most very rare, as a result of similar pressures to Cambodia (Thewlis et al. 1998, Fuchs et al. 2007, Bezuijen et al. 2008). Therefore, the extent of cumulative localised threats are likely important as opposed to general widespread habitat loss. Additional more localised threats include over-harvesting of water snakes (a preferred local prey species) in Prek Toal, Cambodia (Tingay et al. 2006, 2010), the alteration of flood cycles from upstream construction of hydro-electric dams (Kummu and Sarkkula 2008), and overfishing and pollution of waterways in Nepal (BCN and DNPWC 2011, Adhikari et al. 2018). Additionally, in Indonesia, the species is threatened by both domestic and international trade (Nijman et al. 2022, TRAFFIC 2024), largely through online markets (Iqbal 2016, Gunawan et al. 2017, Nijman et al. 2022). The loss of forest cover generally is also the most acute in Indonesia (Global Forest Watch 2024), where losses are driven by the conversion of lowland forests into palm-oil and rubber plantations (Descal et al. 2021, Wang et al. 2023).

Evidence for trade and use of this species is primarily from Indonesia, particularly in Java. Specifically, I. icthyaetus was recorded for sale five times across Facebook and Instagram (none recorded in traditional markets) in surveys between 2016 and 2020 across Java, Bali, and Lombok (Nijman et al. 2022), but was recorded 50 times across five Facebook groups based in Java in 2015 (Iqbal 2015), and 94 times across 38 Facebook groups in 2015 (Gunawan et al. 2017). These surveys support that the species is highly prevalent in trade as reported by Donald et al. (2024). The 2015 numbers are also considerably higher than those recorded from 2016 to 2020. This difference may represent a decline in the species’ population, which is thought to be occurring in Indonesia (Clarke et al. 2023). More likely, the cause of reduced numbers found by Nijman et al. (2022) are methodological, with surveys including traditional markets where trade of raptors is less prevalent (Haryanta et al. 2011, Nijman et al. 2022), and Bali and Lombok which is further from the species’ range compared to Java (the focus of the other surveys) where the species is occasionally found, and adjacent to Sumatra where the species occurs (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Eaton et al. 2021). The species’ higher asking price (>100 USD; Iqbal [2016], Gunawan et al. 2017 [2017], Nijman et al. [2022]) may be representative of its rarity (Nijman et al. 2022), but rarity was found to not always be correlated with increased price in raptors (Gunawan et al. 2017). Trade of the species is largely targeted at domestic buyers (Nijman et al. 2022), but one individual had also been seized on route to China (TRAFFIC 2024), showing that international trade of this species also occurs.

Conservation Actions Underway
None are known but it occurs in multiple protected areas.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Extensive surveys are required across the species' range to determine important areas, and potentially to discover new high density/important breeding areas. Any such areas should be monitored and protected. Surveys are also important to ascertain the population size, and number of subpopulations, and regular monitoring will help reveal regional trends in subpopulations and the associated drivers. Further research is required to understand the impact of trade on the total population, as well as regionally in Indonesia.