Pollution of Lake Baikal with fishing nets

In order to draw attention to the issue of Lake Baikal`s pollution caused by fishing nets, LIN SB RAS in collaboration with Irkutsk branch of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation (chaired by Vera Mikhailovna Shlenova), FSBI “Zapovednoe Pribaikalye”, and Russian Railways JSC, conducted an expedition to raise nets at the Circum-Baikal Railway site (Cape Tolstoy). Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Fetisov, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources, and Environmental Protection, as well as the chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, participated in the expedition. The scale of the problem is confirmed by the fact that 8 nets were lifted from a small site of the bottom for 20 minutes. It should be noted that lifting of nets by divers rather than trawling is more efficient method for preserving the underwater landscapes and unique biota of the lake.

Vesti Irkutsk report: Read more...