A ban on burbot fishing is being introduced in Belarus from December 25. Burbot is a predatory bottom-dwelling fish, the only representative of the cod family that inhabits freshwater bodies.
A ban on burbot fishing is being introduced in Belarus from December 25. Burbot is a predatory bottom-dwelling fish, the only representative of the cod family that inhabits freshwater bodies. It prefers rivers and lakes with cold and clean water. Burbot reaches sexual maturity at 3-4 years of age, but under favourable conditions, some individuals mature earlier. In December, after the water bodies freeze over, mass movement of burbot for spawning begins.
To conserve fish resources and create favourable conditions for fish reproduction, point 107 of the Rules for Fishery Management and Fishing, approved by Decree No. 580 of December 8, 2005, establishes a ban on the fishing of common burbot from December 25 to February 28. If a burbot is caught by an angler during the closed season, then in accordance with current legislation, the fish must be released alive into the fishing grounds. At the same time, on December 15, the ban on fishing for Coregonus lavaretus ended.