The impact of spring crayfish fishing on spawning fish species

Abstract

Crayfish fishing in Belarus is actively developing and is based on narrow-clawed crayfish. The fishery only implements 30–50 % of the catch limits in the fishing reservoirs. One way to further increase the catch is to allow crayfish fishing in spring, which is currently forbidden by the rules because of the fish spawning period. The conducted studies have revealed that the cases of fish getting into the trap in the spring period depends on the size, shape and mesh spacing of the traps. Fish was registered in almost all types of traps, however, the entanglement of fish was observed only in traps with a mesh pitch of more than 12 mm. The majority of caught fish were demersal fish species like the Eurasian ruffe, spined loach and gudgeon. In order to achieve a minimal negative impact on spawning fish, the crayfish traps should be located away from the spawning locations of fish and the mesh size of traps should be of 12 mm or less. Compliance with these conditions may become the basis for making changes and additions to the rules for crayfish fishing during the spring months.