Characterization of the Fish Population in the Southwestern Part of the Onega Lake (Karelia) Based on the Results of Long-Term Monitoring
The results of the long-term ichthyological studies of the southwestern part (the Sheltozero – Brusno region) of the Onega Lake performed as part of the environmental monitoring have been presented. This is one of the most productive and clean areas in the lake. The fish population of the southwestern part of the Onega Lake includes 20 fish species that are representatives of 10 families belonging to six faunistic complexes. By the number of the species, the Carp family dominates. By the number of the species in this area of the lake, the Arctic freshwater, the boreal plain, and the boreal foothill complexes are equally important. The species of the freshwater Pontian, the Arctic marine, and the ancient Late Tertiary complexes together amount to no more than 25 % of the total population. In the southwestern region of the lake, there are many valuable commercial species (freshwater salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758), lavaret (Coregonus lavaretus lavaretus (Linnaeus, 1758)), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758)), pike (Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758), etc. Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus (Linnaeus, 1758)) and vendace (Coregonus albula (Linnaeus, 1758)) are the most commercially valuable (75 – 85 %). The population-ecological analysis has shown a relatively good state of most studied fish species. For maintaining the existing structure and state of the fish population in the southwestern part of the Onega Lake, a set of measures is required, including the preservation and improvement of the fish habitat, the conditions for the fish reproduction and feeding; toughening the protective measures during periods with a decrease in the number of fish species; regulation of fishing, and increasing the amount of fish artificial reproduction, rearing, and releasing into the lake.