More Than 300 European Crayfish Released in Belarusian Lakes to Restore Population
9.11.2012 / 10:10
More than 300 European crayfish were released into two lakes in the Viciebsk region earlier this month as part of a campaign aimed at conserving the country's dwindling population of the endangered species.
The lakes are located in the Hlybokaje district in northwestern Belarus.
The campaign has been supported by the UN Development Program and the Global Environment Facility.
Uladzimir Kaltunou, a manager of a biodiversity conservation project run by the UNDP and the GEF, said that the European crayfish population was threatened mostly by disease and pollution.
Poachers have stopped catching the species since it was declared endangered in 1981, he said.
Nevertheless, the European crayfish is regarded as a delicacy and still needs protection, said biodiversity expert Anatol Aliakhnovich.