840 kg of illegally caught whitefish from Lake Sevan confiscated - Regulator
YEREVAN, January 9. /ARKA/. Approximately 840 kg of whitefish, illegally caught from Lake Sevan, have been confiscated so far, said Hovhannes Martirosyan, head of the Armenian Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources.
“Another case involving the confiscation of about 470 kg of illegal catch was recorded yesterday. The ban on the sale of whitefish in Armenia will remain in effect until January 20,” Martirosyan said at a press conference on Thursday.
He added that more effective measures would be taken in the future to prevent illegal whitefish fishing.
Poaching in Lake Sevan is one of the most pressing issues in Armenia. To address this, authorities periodically impose fishing bans (especially during the spawning season) and increase penalties for violators. Additionally, as part of a program to increase the trout population, 100-130 thousand fry, hatched at Sevan Ishkhan CJSC, a trout farm operating in the Karchaghbyur community, are released into the lake annually.
About Lake Sevan
Lake Sevan is the primary source of drinking water for the region, and one of the largest high-altitude lakes in Europe and Asia, located in the heart of the Armenian Highlands, at an altitude of 1,914 meters. The lake stretches over 70 kilometers from northwest to southeast, and its surface area reaches nearly 1,500 square kilometers.
The lake has only one outflow—the Hrazdan River (a tributary of the Araks), while 28 rivers flow into it, with the total area of their basins covering 2,776 square kilometers.
