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Whitefish reserves in Armenian lake Sevan hit just 6.5 tons : expert
YEREVAN, May 22./ARKA/. Some 6.5 tons of the whitefish remains in
Armenia's Lake Sevan, and this figure is dwindling year over year,
said Bardukh Gabrielyan, director of Zoology and Hydro ecology
Research Center of the National Academy of Sciences.
`In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the lake's whitefish reserve
reached nearly 30,000 tons. In 2011 there were 8.5 tons, last year the
reserve dwindled to minimum of nearly 6.5 tons. We are not already
counting in thousands but just tons... If this trend goes on, in the
near future we can lose all the reserves of this fish,' he said at a
news conference responding to Novosti-Armenia.
Gabrielyan clarified such a dramatic tumble of the reserves of
whitefish and other endemic fish spices, including the trout, in Sevan
is first of all caused by the often poaching cases.
`The whitefish matures when it is almost 2 years old. Meanwhile, the
poachers usually catch the small fishes which haven't reached the age
of 1.5 yet, haven't manage to spawn yet and fulfill their reproductive
function,' he noted.
Gabrielyan also informed besides poachers, the whitefish was
negatively impacted by new species of fish released to the lake,
specifically the Amur chabachok and Armenian Alburnoides bipunctatus.
These species feed on the same as the whitefish, thus creating severe
competition.
Another cause is poor measures to ensure purity of the lake, according to him.
In reference to that, Gabrielyan added in order to increase the
whitefish reserves in Sevan, it is necessary to take all the complex
measures in order to improve socio-economic conditions for the
region's residents, so as to reduce poaching and release higher number
of whitefish whitebait into the lake.
Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia, is
located in the heart of the Armenian plateau, at an altitude of 1914
meters. The lake stretches over 70 kilometers from northwest to
southeast. Its water surface area is nearly 1500 square kilometers.
The lake is the main source of drinking water in the region. By 2030,
the lake's level will be raised to 1903.5 meters. -0-
YEREVAN, May 22./ARKA/. Some 6.5 tons of the whitefish remains in
Armenia's Lake Sevan, and this figure is dwindling year over year,
said Bardukh Gabrielyan, director of Zoology and Hydro ecology
Research Center of the National Academy of Sciences.
`In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the lake's whitefish reserve
reached nearly 30,000 tons. In 2011 there were 8.5 tons, last year the
reserve dwindled to minimum of nearly 6.5 tons. We are not already
counting in thousands but just tons... If this trend goes on, in the
near future we can lose all the reserves of this fish,' he said at a
news conference responding to Novosti-Armenia.
Gabrielyan clarified such a dramatic tumble of the reserves of
whitefish and other endemic fish spices, including the trout, in Sevan
is first of all caused by the often poaching cases.
`The whitefish matures when it is almost 2 years old. Meanwhile, the
poachers usually catch the small fishes which haven't reached the age
of 1.5 yet, haven't manage to spawn yet and fulfill their reproductive
function,' he noted.
Gabrielyan also informed besides poachers, the whitefish was
negatively impacted by new species of fish released to the lake,
specifically the Amur chabachok and Armenian Alburnoides bipunctatus.
These species feed on the same as the whitefish, thus creating severe
competition.
Another cause is poor measures to ensure purity of the lake, according to him.
In reference to that, Gabrielyan added in order to increase the
whitefish reserves in Sevan, it is necessary to take all the complex
measures in order to improve socio-economic conditions for the
region's residents, so as to reduce poaching and release higher number
of whitefish whitebait into the lake.
Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia, is
located in the heart of the Armenian plateau, at an altitude of 1914
meters. The lake stretches over 70 kilometers from northwest to
southeast. Its water surface area is nearly 1500 square kilometers.
The lake is the main source of drinking water in the region. By 2030,
the lake's level will be raised to 1903.5 meters. -0-