Conservation Status of Native Species in Natural Lakes of Drim System (Prespa, Ohrid and Skadar Lake) and Dangers of Commercial Fishing

D. MILOŠEVIĆ¹ and T. TALEVSKI^2
1 University of Montenegro, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Podgorica, Montenegro
² Department of Cyprinid Fauna, Hydrobiological Institute, Ohrid, University “Kliment Ohridski”, Bitola, R. Macedonia

Abstract

MILOŠEVIĆ, D. and T. TALEVSKI, 2015. Conservation status of native species in natural lakes of Drim system (Prespa, Ohrid and Skadar lake) and dangers of commercial fishing. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Supplement 1, 21: 61–67

Prespa, Ohrid and Skadar are the largest lakes on the Balkan Peninsula. The native fish population consists, in total, of fifty species. These lakes represent centers of biodiversity of ichthyofauna of the Balkans and many fish species are strictly protected and placed on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list. In fact, one species is listed as Extinct (EX), three are Critically Endangered (CR), three are Endangered (EN), eight are Vulnerable (VU), twenty-four are Least Concern (LC), five are listed as Data Deficient (DD) and six species are Not Evaluated (NE). At the same time Prespa, Ohrid and Skadarlakes are significant fishing areas where commercial fishing is conducted. In some lakes, large quantities of fish that are caught are strictly protected species according to the IUCN red list.

Key words: Balkan, threatened species, IUCN red list, Drim system
Abbreviations: EX– Extinct; EW – Extinct in the Wild; CR – Critically Endangered; EN– Endangered; VU– Vulnerable; LR/cd – Lower Risk/conservation dependent; NT – Near Threatened (includes LR/nt – Lower Risk/near threatened); LC – Least Concern (includes LR/lc – Lower Risk, least concern); DD – Data Deficient, Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria; NE – Not Evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria

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