In the Vitebsk region, the number of lakes covered by fishing has halved in three years

June 1, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. In the Vitebsk region, the number of natural bodies of water covered by commercial fishing has decreased by almost 2 times over the past three years, Mikhail Sokolov, head of the Vitebsk Regional Beekeeping and Pisciculture Service, told a BELTA correspondent. In his opinion, the reason for this lies in the fact that most tenants lack experience in commercial fishing, fishing crews are insufficiently equipped with modern selective fishing gear, and there is a lack of knowledge about the fish structure of water bodies. As a result, commercial activities are unprofitable. For example, tenants of "Vitebskmeliorvodkhoz" incur losses of at least Br150 million annually. Of the 86 tenants registered in the region last year, 72 are currently engaged in commercial fishing, and out of 1863 lakes, 226 have been leased. Meanwhile, more than 800 lakes and reservoirs with an area of almost 90 thousand hectares and 1.5 thousand km of rivers can be used for fishing. In 2008, fish-producing enterprises in the region sold 490 tons of pond fish and increased their sales by 7.6%. At the same time, the target for catching lake and river fish is not being met. This year, 260 tons of fish will need to be caught in the region, including 170 tons of lake and river fish. As Mikhail Sokolov noted, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has sent proposals to the Ministry of Agriculture on fish production. In particular, it is proposed to simplify the leasing of natural water bodies, and to carry out the fishing of lakes not leased by zonal state fishing crews, which can be created at land reclamation organizations. Since June 1, the seasonal ban on amateur fishing has ceased to be in effect in Belarus. -0-