DOI: 10.2478/cjf-2026-0010
Original scientific paper
Drifting Nets As A Tool To Achieve Fish Management And Conservation Purposes In The Lower Danube River
2026, 84 (2) p. 99-106
Apostolos Apostolou, Boris Velkov
Abstract
Drift trammel netting is a traditional method for commercial fish catches in the Danube River, especially concerning the Bulgarian stretch. Potentially, non-commercial or endangered fish species could be caught as bycatch, but such official statistics do not exist. Recently, freshwater fish populations have declined – the commercial ones included. In connection with these facts, the study aims to examine recent quantitative fish catches from drift netting performed in the Lower Danube from a conservation point of view. During the early summer of 2024, 54 transects with drifting trammel nets in two sampling points of the Lower Danube (Bulgaria) were performed. The fishing gear and methodology used were similar to the commercial ones. 18 fish species were captured; a sturgeon species was included. 9 of them are under protection in the NATURA network; 15 are mentioned in at least one regulatory document. On this basis and for better assessment and conservation, bycatch and discards have to be officially registered, and quotas have to be considered. As additional output, the presence of Pontic shemaya in a new NATURA 2000 site was confirmed- the BG0000530. Thus, it should be included in this site accordingly, since it is the most suitable for its monitoring.
Keywords
Monitoring, assessment, fish, protected species, Danube River
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