Researchers urge a change in the ban times due to early spawning

Researchers urge a change in the ban times due to early spawning – with video

This year, the fish started spawning unusually early in Lake Balaton. According to the Balaton Limnological Research Institute (BLKI), it would be timely to reconsider the prohibition period for certain fish species and to increase the flexibility of the regulation.

The individual fish species usually spawn in a well-defined sequence and during a relatively well-defined period. Among the indigenous species in Lake Balaton, the pike starts spawning at the end of February, at the very beginning of March.

They are followed by perch in the second half of March, bream in the first week of April, then bream, bream, bream, carp and catfish sometimes from the end of April, but typically in May. While red-winged bream and bream start spawning at the end of May or June at the latest.

The spawning of several fish species can take a long time, so for example, we can observe sporadic spawning of bream and bream until the end of June and the beginning of July.

However, our climate, which is warming due to climate change, also affects the spawning time of fish. In Hungary, March and the first half of April 2024 were particularly hot, the water temperature of Lake Balaton already reached 15-16 degrees Celsius by the beginning of April.

According to BLKI’s statement, due to the heat, spawning of most fish species started about 7-21 days earlier than usual, and it was the earliest in the last three decades. For example, that of the perch is in the first half of March, that of the bream at the end of March, and that of the bream, bream and bream in the first week of April.

As a counterexample, it should be mentioned that the beginning of spring was particularly cold in 1996, when the ice did not stop at Tihany until the first of April.

One of the important tools of natural aquatic fish management is the prohibition period, the purpose of which is to provide legally fixed protection for our more valuable fish species during spawning and nest guarding.

“In order for this goal to be fully achieved despite the effects of climate change, it may be timely to reconsider the prohibition period for certain fish species, as well as to increase the flexibility of the regulation,” BLKI formulated its position.

The following images taken in 2022 and 2023 show the spawning of bream and bream.