Spawning ban on fishing in Ukraine 2020

When does the spawning fishing ban in Ukraine 2020 come into force?

For the entire Dnieper cascade of reservoirs, the ban on fishing in 2020 will be in effect from April 1 to June 9 (inclusive). Date changes are subject to weather.

In Kiev and the Kiev region in 2020, the ban on fishing applies to:

• for all reservoirs, lakes, bays and channels for the period March 20 - May 28;
• for all rivers and their root waters for the period March 20 - May 8;
• for new water bodies, additional river system and any other water bodies for the period March 20 - June 17.

At this time, you cannot move by boat, engage in industrial fishing, spearfishing, dredging, blasting and other types of work on the territory of the water fund.

You can practice recreational and sport fishing (no more than 3 kg per person). One float or bottom rod, one hook and one spinning rod are allowed. You can fish from the shore and on daylight hours. You can fish without leaving the administrative boundaries of the settlement and provided that there are no spawning grounds there.

Actual information is published on the official website of the  State Agency for Fisheries of Ukraine .

When is the fishing season 2020 opening?

According to Alexander Chistyakov, who heads the Association of Fishermen of Ukraine, the ban on the spawning period for Ukraine is "average", this is due to different spawning times for different types of fish. For pike, the spawning time is late February - early March. For catfish, late May - early June. And species such as perch and goldfish lay eggs not once a year, but several times.

In the overwhelming majority of European countries, the spawning ban is set on "floating" dates. For each type of fish - its spawning prohibition.

Whatever type of prohibition of catching fish during the spawning period is established, the main thing in this matter is to treat the country's water bodies and its fish resources humanely, in a civilized manner. The spawning period is especially important, because the amount of fish in the reservoirs directly depends on it.

While the ban on fishing is in effect, and the fishing season of 2020 is paused, we recommend getting new tackle.

Our TOP for the action.

The 2020 spawning ban in Kiev and Kiev region was introduced due to low water and other negative factors that threaten a decrease in the number of fish in the reservoirs of Ukraine. There have been alarming signals from ecologists and scientists for a long time due to anomalies that occur with the weather. It is estimated that over the past four years, the occupancy rate of Ukrainian water bodies was at most 80% of the norm.

Natural spawning grounds dry up in Kiev and Kiev region

In January-February 2020, there was practically no snow in Kiev and the region at all, and this will lead to the fact that the filling of reservoirs will become even less. At the present time, the situation cannot but be alarming, and if the summer heat comes, and precipitation does not fall in sufficient quantities, then they will only be enough to moisten the soil for a short time. The reservoirs will remain dry.

If events really develop according to this scenario, dehydration, or even complete drying up of many reservoirs, cannot be avoided.

Inadequate attitude to water resources in Ukraine has led to the fact that over the years of Ukraine's independence more than 10 thousand small rivers have dried up. The situation will not improve, but can only worsen, because officials have not undertaken anything to correct the situation during this entire period. Today this is openly discussed in the National Ecological Council of Ukraine.

In the current situation, fish resources of Ukraine may be seriously affected. The lack of water in reservoirs, which is observed in 2020, is a serious threat to spawning. The point is that almost everywhere in natural spawning grounds it is dry, there is no water at all, that is, there is simply no place for spawning.

Why the number of fish in Kiev and Kiev region has significantly decreased

It is not the first time that experts say that in Ukraine in general, and in Kiev and the region in particular, natural spawning grounds have become an acute shortage. This state of affairs is due to the absence of any reclamation measures related to the clearing of spawning grounds over the past decades. As a result, they are covered with wild thickets, in which fish spawning is impossible.

The reason that fish spawning grounds have been destroyed lies in the thoughtless development that the coastal strip has undergone. This activity caused the loss of natural spawning grounds in total about 40%. And hence the significant reduction in the number of fish in the reservoirs of Kiev and the region.

Fishery enterprises in Kiev and the region, as well as environmental public organizations, in order to provide assistance to schools of fish, are installing artificial spawning nests in many reservoirs for the spawning period. Such measures have proven to be quite effective.

More than a million eggs can be laid in one artificial nest by roach. The nests are designed in such a way that the caviar is washed, getting rid of small debris and silt. In addition, she receives enough solar heat in artificial nests.

Representatives of the world of fish in Kiev and Kiev region are in dire need of human help

Modern realities are such that it becomes quite obvious that human help is in dire need of fish. Over the past, 2019, more than 15.5 million fish were released into the reservoirs of Ukraine. 7.2 million are herbivorous species and 8.4 million are indigenous.

After analyzing living water resources, scientists came to the conclusion that assistance in such volumes is only 10% of what needs to be done.

An analysis of the fish species contained in the reservoirs of Kiev and the region showed that, in comparison with the data of 1991, the indicators for 2019 are really frightening:

• bream in water bodies decreased by 70%;
• pikes - by 85%;
• catfish and pike perch - by 90%.

As for sabrefish, vimba, tench and podust, which were once widespread in this region, they are found in single specimens or do not occur at all. Back in 2009, in the last edition of the Red Book of Ukraine, the aboriginal fish, as endangered, was represented by more than 70 species.

Experts believe that the fish disappears due to the fault of poachers, due to poor control over industrial fishing, due to pollution of reservoirs with runoff from enterprises and households, in which all living things die, and for many other reasons.

The obvious fact is that the fish itself could not be lost. In each case, there is a responsible person behind this. The main enemy of the fishing industry in Ukraine is the large-scale corruption of officials. Especially those who are related to fish conservation structures. If a person's duties include the protection of fish, and he patronizes its illegal catch, then the fish have no chance to preserve their population.

The ban on fishing in 2019 was on the following dates in the Kiev region:

• on rivers from March 29 to May 17;
• on all reservoirs from March 29 to June 06;
• on other subordinate systems from March 29 to June 26.

Ban on catching cancer in 2019 in the Kiev region:

• from December 10 to June 30;
  
• from August 15 to September 01.

Allowed:

Amateur fishing with one hook or spinning from the shore in settlements (up to 3 kg).