Boris Davidov
Other projects
23 Jan 2017
Continuation of Population Research, Distribution and Conservation of Danube Salmon in Middle and Lower Reaches of the Una River
Our project main aims will be the continuation of field work that we started but we will also spread the research area for the whole habitat of Una that Danube salmon inhabits. The data collected will now be a first for an entire river stretch of habitat and for one big river inside Bosnia and Herzegovina and making a database for gathering and sharing data. The second main aim will be Influencing the general public with lectures and workshops in the effort to spread knowledge of this species and its importance to the habitat and to people in general. The third aim will focus on the work with the government in reinforcing the practical protection of the Danube salmon and all other fish species and their management in the protected area of the Una River.
Bosanska Krupa 12 years catch and release zone.
For the past 2 years the team has spent working on the Danube salmon populations in the big part of the area that this fish inhabits in Una River. The Danube salmon is endangered species of fish on the IUCN red list of threatened species and the river Una represents one of the last habitats that are not influenced by dams and changing morphology of the river.
Bosanska Krupa catch and release zone, underwater.
The work we do will be continuation of gathering data and catching specimens for individual identification and its already contributing with unique and first data about the populations of Danube salmons in Una river and the data shared with the government will continue to be used for enforcing the better laws, protection and protected area for this fish. For this project the research area will be enlarged and we finally plan to collect data from the 2.2km zone of Bosanska Krupa which is only catch and release zone for already 12 years and has a lot of Danube salmons, which will serve as our base for the average number of fishes per square kilometer. The team will conduct in total 50 expeditions during one year of field work. Our big contribution will also be education of local community, fishermen and general public about the needs for protecting the species, its role in the ecosystem as top predator in keeping the river healthy and use this species in ecotourism. It is important to influence general public with the possibilities of long term gain in eco fishing tourism and to prove to people that they can earn more money by good management methods and protection of the species rather than killing all the fishes. For that we will hold lectures and make workshop for students and general public. We also plan to have several official talks with fishing societies that govern and manage the water in our research area. The third part of our project will be making and managing the data through a new web page database that we plan to make. This will open a new opportunities for all those who are and will get interested to share data about their catches and help preserve species with us.