Breading of non typical fish species should be forbidden in Sevan Lake: scientist

YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. Breeding of all sorts of fish non typical for the ecosystem of Sevan Lake, including carp and sturgeon, should be forbidden in all fish farms around the lake, said Evelina Ghukasyan, head of the hydroecology and ichthyology institute.

Commercial fish resources have expired in Armenia and biological diversity of Sevan Lake underwent serious changes, including reduction of most valuable species and emergence of new fish species that may cause problems, Ghukasyan said adding that only salmon fishes are the endemic ones to Sevan.

The new species eat the same food as the endemic ones, some eat even caviar, she said.

Under a native species restoration government plan, lots of baby fishes of trout (summer bakhtak and gegharkuni) are released into the lake every year. But because water is used for irrigation in the rivers where fishes shed the eggs, natural reproduction is endangered, the scientist said.

In this respect, the hydroecology and ichthyology institute has developed a concept to catch mature trout from Sevan and put them into incubators to preserve them.

This proposal may be submitted while forming a council for fish population restoration in Sevan under the presidential decree of October 21 (http://newsarmenia.ru/society/20131021/42962471.html). 

Total fish resources in Sevan are, according to most recent estimates, 80-90 tons. 

A study conducted by Armenian and Russian scientists showed the lake fish resources were over 10,700 tons in 1983, 625 tons in 2005, 253.6 tons in 2006, 279.6 tons in 2009 and over 300 tons in 2010.

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 1,914 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. -0-