Ebook: Conservation of Endangered Freshwater Fish in Europe

Two events have recently improved the prospects of protecting fish and their environment in Switzerland: the acceptance of a new Federal Water Protection Law in the plebiscite of May 17th 1992, and the new Federal Legislation on Fisheries, in force since January 1st 1994. With this legal framework, the possibilities for protection of nature and landscape have now considerably improved in Switzerland. The most important aims of the Federal Law on Water Protection are to safeguard the natural habitats of the native flora and fauna and water as the habitat of aquatic organisms. This includes not only the preservation or restoration of water quality in lakes and rivers, but also, in rivers used for hydroelectricity, irrigation or as industrial or other water supplies, the maintenance of sufficient water to fulfill the minimal requirements for fish. However, good quality water in sufficient quan­ tities alone is not enough to guarantee the survival of fish. Intact fish habitats comprise various phYsical structures including plenty of hiding places, hunting grounds, reproduction and nursery areas within suitable distances from each other. This third aspect of conservation and restoration of aquatic habitats is a central point in the new Federal Law on Fisheries. Whereas the former versions of this law were more concerned with fishery regulations, the recent legislation defines new areas of responsibility for the federal and the cantonal governments.

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This publication stands out from many others on fish conservation in that it deals exclusively with freshwater fish of European waters. 34 contributions offer up-to-date reviews on the conservation status of freshwater fish in 10 European countries and research results in genetics, systematics and ecology of more that 20 endangered European fish taxa. Selected examples show the changes in the fish communities of whole catchment areas under human influence in the past decades.Not only scientists in fish biology, but also fishery managers and hydraulic engineers will find new insights into the biology of endangered fish species and basic data in order to elaborate specific conservation measures for the local survival of these taxa.

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This publication stands out from many others on fish conservation in that it deals exclusively with freshwater fish of European waters. 34 contributions offer up-to-date reviews on the conservation status of freshwater fish in 10 European countries and research results in genetics, systematics and ecology of more that 20 endangered European fish taxa. Selected examples show the changes in the fish communities of whole catchment areas under human influence in the past decades.Not only scientists in fish biology, but also fishery managers and hydraulic engineers will find new insights into the biology of endangered fish species and basic data in order to elaborate specific conservation measures for the local survival of these taxa.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XII
General considerations regarding the decline of species....Pages 1-7
Threatened freshwater fishes of Great Britain....Pages 9-21
Scottish natural heritage and fish conservation in Scotland....Pages 23-26
Endangered freshwater fish in Ireland....Pages 27-33
Endangered freshwater fish: The situation in France....Pages 35-54
Endangered freshwater fish of Spain....Pages 55-61
The Red Data List of the freshwater lampreys (Cyclostomata) and fish (Pisces) of Slovenia....Pages 63-72
Threatened freshwater fish in Hungary....Pages 73-77
Vanishing freshwater fish species of Slovakia....Pages 79-88
The status of the fish fauna in the Czech Republic....Pages 89-98
Endangered fishes of the River Morava (Czech Republic)....Pages 99-110
Long-term changes in the fish community of Neusiedler See (Burgenland, Austria)....Pages 111-120
Natural regenerations of endangered fish populations in the Pilica drainage basin after reducing human impacts....Pages 121-133
Fish conservation in Switzerland - three case-studies....Pages 135-145
The decline of the European sturgeon Acipenser sturio in the Baltic and North Sea....Pages 147-156
Occurrence and distribution of twaite shad (Alosa fallax Lacepede) in the lower Elbe River, Germany....Pages 157-170
Rehabilitation of salmon (Salmo salar L.) in Denmark; state, objectives and methods....Pages 171-179
The role of natural and artificial propagation on the genetic diversity of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) of the upper Rhone drainage....Pages 181-197
Cellulose acetate electrophoresis for screening transferrin polymorphism in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations....Pages 199-202
Decline and conservation of migrating brown trout (Salmo trutta f. lacustris L.) of Lake Constance....Pages 203-211
The conservation ecology ofCoregonus albula and C. lavaretus in England and Wales, UK....Pages 213-223
Gonadal abnormalities inCoregonus peled Gmel. Coregonus lavaretus L. hybrids, introduced into natural waters....Pages 225-232
Threatened populations and conservation of the European grayling, Thymallus thymallus (L., 1758)....Pages 233-247
Reproduction and habitat preference of the threatened spirlin (Alburnoides bipunctatus Bloch) and soufie (Leuciscus souffia Risso) under laboratory conditions (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)....Pages 249-258
Distribution of YOY-barbel Barbus barbus (L.) in the River Sieg/Germany....Pages 259-267
Drift, habitat choice and growth of the nase (Chondrostoma nasus, Cyprinidae) during early life stages....Pages 269-278
Contribution to the knowledge of the distribution and spawning grounds of Chondrostoma nasus and Chondrostoma toxostoma (Pisces, Cyprinidae) in Switzerland....Pages 279-285
Spawning grounds of Chondrostoma soetta Bonaparte, 1840 (Cyprinidae) in Southern Switzerland....Pages 287-297
The artificial propagation and culture of young weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis L.)....Pages 299-304
Description of Knipowitschia punctatissima croatica, (Pisces: Gobiidae), a new freshwater goby from Dalmatia, Croatia....Pages 305-310
The sculpin of the Lez spring (South France), Cottus petiti (Bacescu and Bacescu - Mester, 1964), one of the most threatened fish species in Europe....Pages 311-319
Conservation of samaruc, Valencia hispanica (Valenciennes, 1846), (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae), an endemic and endangered species, in the community of Valencia (east Spain)....Pages 321-328
Workshop I: Faunistic surveys and vulnerability assessments....Pages 329-335
Workshop III: Management and rehabilitation of habitat of endangered fishes....Pages 337-338
Back Matter....Pages 339-339
....Pages 340-341