This international workshop on the restoration of fish populations was held as one of the outcomes of the European Life Project ‘Re-introduction of the Allis shad (Alosa alosa) to the River Rhine system’ and was co-organized by the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and the IUCN Specialist groups on ‘Freshwater Fish – Wetlands International’, ‘Re-introduction’, ‘Sturgeons’ and ‘Salmonids’. The key aim of this symposium was to synthesize contemporary knowledge and improve our understanding of the scientific and management needs based on the outcome of recent fish restoration projects while facilitating information exchange of original research results contributed by scientists and managers working in supporting disciplines. The industrial revolution in the late 18th and 19th centuries led to (i) heavy pollution of rivers, lakes and estuaries, (ii) extensive river fragmentation (which is still a growing problem), and (iii) large-scale habitat degradation, resulting into the loss of many populations of native fish species and their supporting habitats. In some countries, several commercially important inland fisheries ceased due to overfishing and severe environmental degradation. The link between poor water quality and fish health together with an increasing awareness by the respective authorities and the public at large of the importance of the natural integrity of the aquatic environment has led to a tightening of the environmental legislation. However improvements in water quality were not seen till the second half of the 20th century. The earliest fish restoration projects were inaugurated in the late 1960s, but soon it became apparent that any effort to restore fish populations is a complex, lengthy and financially costly undertaking. These early attempts to re-introduce and re-establish a species often failed due to an unawareness of the complex environmental and management issues involved (particularly as it pertains to habitat connectivity in rivers), leading to inadequate planning and a subsequent lack of the badly needed resources (financial and otherwise). There was a need for learning by experience. A considerable volume of information and expertise has been gathered over the past 50 years and the workshop provided ample opportunity for discussion by the over 100 experts from 22 different countries. One of the main aims was to facilitate extensive discussions on how to proceed in the future when formulating new project target objectives. As background information, 37 oral contributions and 19 posters were presented which covered a broad range of basic and applied research subjects dealing primarily with fish restoration. A limited number of critically pre-selected contributions to the workshop went through the peer review process and were subsequently prepared for publication. These are presented here in this special supplement volume of the journal. Although the workshop dealt primarily with Shad (Alosa species) and salmonids (Salmo salar), the experiences gained here have wider implications and it is for this reason that a number of authorities and NOGs participated and sponsored this event. We hope that a broader readership will profit from this exercise. We wish to acknowledge the efforts and dedication of numerous colleagues and institutional members who helped locally in organizing the conference. These were: Dr Heiner Klinger, Claudia Brinkmann, Heike El Gamal, Roland Paschmann (all LANUV NRW), Dr Wolfgang Gettmann, Dr Elmar Finke, Marion Wille, Beate Pelzer, Marc Messing (Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum Düsseldorf. Further we wish to thank the scientific committee in preparing and contributing to the science programme: Mark Bain (Cornell University, New York, USA); Jost Borcherding (University of Cologne, Ecological Research Station, Germany); Alain Crivelli (Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat, France); Jaakko Erkinaro (Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Finland); Jörn Gessner (IGB, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany); Detlev Ingendahl (State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany); Bror Jonsson (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway); Heiner Klinger (State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany); Arne Ludwig (IZW, Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, IUCN Sturgeon Specialist Group, Germany); Gordon McGregor Reid (Director North of England Zoological Society, Chair IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, United Kingdom); Eric Rochard (CEMAGREF, Estuarine ecosystems and diadromous fish unit, France); Pritpal Singh Soorae (Program Officer IUCN Re-introduction Specialist Group, United Arab Emirates); Tom Worthington, University of Southampton, UK. Düsseldorf, September 10, 2011
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Jun 15, 2012
Mota, Micaela + 1
Open Access
