Use Of Poachers’ Catches For Studying Fish Fauna In The Water Bodies Of The Transcarpathian Region (Ukraine)

We compared techniques used by poachers to capture fishes in the streams and stagnant water bodies of the Tisa River basin in Ukraine, which included: gill nets, lift nets, screen nets, electrofishing devices, spears, concussion, and beach seine. In total, 38 species were observed in poachers’ catches, among which the most abundant were nase (Chondrostoma nasus), Carpathian barbel (Barbus carpathicus), chub (Squalius cephalus), crucian carp (Carassius gibelio), and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). The highest diversity of species was observed in gill nets (25 species in rivers and 10 in stagnant waters), lift nets (20 species in rivers and eight in stagnant waters), and electrofishing (19 species). Poachers’ catches can provide information on fish species’ compositions and relative abundance in montane rivers; but there are biases associated with each technique.