The Species Composition of the Ichthyofauna in the Lithuanian Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon and Its Changes in Recent Years

Abstract

The list of fish and lamprey species caught in the Lithuanian economic zone of the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon has been compiled on the basis of investigations performed by Lithuanian ichthyologists in these waters in earlier and recent years. On the basis of findings of scientific investigations there were 63 species registered in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lithuania and 57 fish species – in the Curonian Lagoon. The fish species composition in these waters differing greatly, there was a total of 79 species registered. According to their ecology species are divided into three groups: marine (31), freshwater (37) and diadromous (11) species. The majority of fish species included into the Red Data Book of Lithuania (6), protected (10) and conserved under the Bern convention (18) and the Habitat directive (10) occur in these waters. There were eight introduced fish species recorded. Investigations into ichthyocenoses in the Lithuanian economic zone of the Baltic Sea becoming more intensive in the...