Current state and fishing of bream (Abramis brama Linnaeus, 1758) acclimated to the Bratsk reservoir
The paper provides information on the scope and timing of introduction of bream in the Bratsk reservoir, shows the distribution of bream in the first years of its release, and describes the current distribution pattern of bream in the reservoir. It is concluded that the process of bream acclimatization in the reservoir was completed by the early 80’s. Furthermore, the paper provides data on measurements of the linear dimensions of fish by age groups and maturation speed, gives characteristics of fish catches, shows their dynamics in 1984-2016. The main fishing gears are 50-90 mm fish traps, seine and fixed gill net. The fishing of bream is usually done during the open-water period i.e. from May to October, including during spawning. It is only limited by a fishing quota and largely based on the capture of immature fish. In 2016, the annual catch of young fish was 142.4 tons or 55.2 per cent of the total catch. Group maturity of bream - 81.8% in both, males and females - occurs at age 5+ years and 29.5 cm total length. The authors propose to establish a minimum size for capture of 30 cm and limit the by-catch of species that are less than a minimum size for capture (young fish) to less than 20% of the total catch.