Gross mismatches between salmonid stocking and capture record data in a large Alpine lake basin in Northern Italy suggest a low stocking effectiveness for an endangered native trout

Accepted: 25 May 2023
Supplementary: 53
HTML: 20
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Stocking of native and non-native fish species is a widespread practice commonly used to enhance inland recreational fisheries, appropriate when intense harvesting and the degradation or lack of suitable habitat decrease the abundance of the managed species below carrying capacity. In spite of its popularity, this practice is often poorly informed by scientific information. Salmonids are arguably the most popular and commercially valuable freshwater fishes being managed for recreational fisheries. Stocking of both native and non-native taxa has been practiced for almost two centuries in Europe, dramatically altering the structure and function of riverine and lacustrine ecosystems. In the Verbano-Cusio Ossola Province, northern Italy, within the Lake Maggiore catchment, we measured large numerical mismatches between stocking of cultured native (Salmo marmoratus) plus non-native trout taxa (S. trutta, S. ghigii, Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the number of fishes captured by local anglers. These observations highlight the need for future studies to estimate the stocking effectiveness of S. marmoratus, a critically endangered species of significant cultural and economic value.
Edited by
Diego Fontaneto, National Research Council, Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Verbania Pallanza, ItalyHow to Cite

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Similar Articles
- Gabriella SCHÖLL-BARNA, An isotope mass balance model for the correlation of freshwater bivalve shell (Unio pictorum) carbonate δ18O to climatic conditions and water δ18O in Lake Balaton (Hungary) , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 70 No. 2 (2011)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.