“The eel is the species that we risk losing”: the Lot fishing federation reacts to the WWF report

“The number of individuals in fish and bird populations observed in rivers has decreased on average by 0.4% since the start of the 21st century”, this is what the WWF organization report entitled “For living rivers”, published on May 23, 2024. Patrice Jaubert and Laurent Fridrick, from the Lot Fishing Federation, question the sources of this report, filled with “overly general averages”. They therefore propose an inventory of fish biodiversity in the Lot River and the actions implemented for its protection.

Protected species or heritage species… It’s a real headache. “Protected species refer to texts and decrees. Heritage species refer to all species whose habitat is protected,” explains Laurent Fridrick. The river barbel, the dace, the gudgeon, the bleak, the pikeperch, the minnow or even the pike and the eel… The heritage species of the Lot are numerous while there is only one protected species in this river: the Planer lamprey.

Between 2007 and 2017, the pike, a heritage species considered a “reference species”, was the subject of a study by the Lot Fishing Federation in partnership with the Ecolab laboratory at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse. Here is a summary of their findings.

The pike, the “landmark heritage species” of the Lot River

“What works for pike, works for everything else. It is an umbrella species, meaning that from it, we can demonstrate whether the ecosystem is functioning well or not,” explains Patrice Jaubert. This fish species is at the heart of the concerns of the Lot Fishing Federation. In addition to national regulations for fishing for this fish (closed between the last Sunday in January and the last Saturday in April), they have implemented other actions to protect it. Here are the two main ones.

• Redevelopment work on river annexes. The objective of this action is to “protect areas favorable to the reproduction of this fish species”. By developing river annexes where they can reproduce in better conditions, it is not only pike but many other species that they preserve (carp, perch, and even roach). “What worked for the pike worked, also works for the rest,” concludes the president of the Lot Fishing Federation.
• New regulations specific to the Lot: “The pike capture window”. From now on, pike over 80 centimeters must be returned to the water. “Contrary to popular belief, pike of this size are almost always female and their fertility rate is much higher,” explains Patrice Jaubert. With this measure, it ensures a “balance between the expectations of fishermen and the preservation of the species. »

“The eel is the species that we risk losing”

Of the sixty dams in the department, only a few have fish passes. “It’s case by case,” says Laurent Fridrick. Problem: for eels, a species of migratory fish, fish passages are essential to their survival. They allow it to move between the Sargasso Sea and the rivers. “The eel is the species that we risk losing,” confides the president of the Lot Fishing Federation. Laurent Fridrick adds: “If we want to save the species, we must generalize fish passes at large dams. “The whole challenge is to multiply our actions,” he concludes. And this is what the Lot Fishing Federation intends to do in all the rivers of the department.