Portraying fisheries and ecological status of a Mediterranean lake

Abstract

Background. Gaps of knowledge in lentic systems and discrepancies in official fishery statistics biased fisheries state and inhibits the development of conservation strategies. For that reason the integration of conventional (official data from fisheries landings) and unconventional (fishermen knowledge) sources of data, accompanied with the use of historical archives will outline the framework of the monitoring of freshwater resources.The presently reported study integrated local ecological knowledge of fishers, historical data, field surveys and scientific data to present better management options for a Mediterranean lentic system (Volvi Lake, northern Greece). Materials and methods. On-the-spot interviews were conducted with the professional fishers of Volvi Lake (northern Greece) in parallel with field surveys of environmental parameters during 2014–2015 and complemented with archival freshwater-related information. Results. The results of the presently reported study point to commercial fisheries as a declining activity, with little scope for a future, due to internal and external threats. This diagnostic can probably be generalized beyond the case study to other freshwater ecosystems in Europe, where decreasing fisheries productivity due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution, coupled with low economic productivity has led to an increased marginalisation of freshwater fisheries. Conclusion. The reported difficulties of freshwater fisheries could be bypassed through creation of fishers’ typology regarding their dependence on fisheries. Upgrading the methodological approach followed by the official reporting system in freshwaters might also facilitate the fulfilment of the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive.