Challenges for Sustainable Use of the Fish Resources from Lake Balkhash, a Fragile Lake in an Arid Ecosystem

Abstract

Lake Balkhash is the largest water body in Central Asia. More than three-quarters of its inflow comes from the Ili River, which is under increasing strain due to the diversion of water for energy and food production. Commercial fishing in Lake Balkhash began in 1929 and is currently in a state of crisis. The construction of the Balkhash dam and reservoir in the late 1960s reduced Ili River flows into the lake and upset the natural cycle of spring floods, which greatly reduced spawning and feeding areas for carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp populations were consequently reduced by more than 90% during the filling of the reservoir and have not recovered, even though the lake's level subsequently rose. Catches of carp and freshwater bream (Abramis brama orientalis) have shown an inverse relationship since the 1960s, and the age structure of freshwater bream is changing. Historically, most captured fish of this species were 4-to 7-years-old, but smaller, 3-to 5-year-old fish have dominated recent catches. The total fish harvest from Lake Balkhash is currently at near historical lows, not just because of environmental factors, but also because of structural changes triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Poaching, government disinterest, lack of enforcement of fishing regulations, and the economic challenges faced by today's small fishing enterprises all contribute to the problem.

New data on diversity and distribution of fish in shallow waters in western Lake Balkhash (Kazakhstan)

“…Flow regulation in the lower reaches of the Ili River after the Kapchagay reservoir dam construction, high water pollution with organic and heavy metals, overfishing and poaching impact on ecosystem of the western Balkhash have long history. This was recently traced in several publications that reported escalation of negative loading on the ecosystem (Graham et al, 2017;Krupa et al, 2020;Mischke et al, 2020;Pueppke et al, 2018;Sala et al, 2020).…”

“…Williams et al (2009) reported that some rare species could avoid extinction if they were sufficiently generalist to utilize suboptimal habitat types The Balkhash perch is just such species that can use various foods and use different life strategies (Mamilov, 2016). The high pressure of legal fishery and poaching on most abundant introduced commercial fish species lead to decrease of total number of fish and harvest (Pueppke et al, 2018), but it gave ecological space to the indigenous one.…”

“…Therefore, the western part of lake is the main place of commercial fish reproduction (Imentai et al, 2015). The increase in population density and the lack of effective environmental control led to dangerous pollution of the aquatic environment (Krupa et al, 2020;Mischke et al, 2020;Sala et al, 2020) and poaching on a large scale (Graham et al, 2017;Pueppke et al, 2018). Recent data about the human impact on the fish fauna are very limited and the status and dynamics of fish populations are not well known (Imentai et al, 2015).…”

Central Asia’s Ili River Ecosystem as a Wicked Problem: Unraveling Complex Interrelationships at the Interface of Water, Energy, and Food

“…As the old legal framework began to dissolve and enforcement was relaxed, agriculture entered a period of decline such that by 1999, fully half of all food production in the new republics had been wiped out [96]. Yields from aquaculture facilities (some near Kapchagai Reservoir) and of fish captured in the lake were especially hard hit [45,48], as lax management, insufficient regulation of water withdrawals, and overuse of water resources took their toll [14,48,56,57,97]. Sharp reductions in livestock numbers [28] paralleled the decline in capture fisheries, as provision of water for pastures was curtailed [98] and the newly-independent states struggled to become self-sufficient rather than specialized in the production of sheep, goats, and cattle [99].…”

Quality of Drinking Water in the Balkhash District of Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region

“…Given the harshness of the environment and lack of water, it is not surprising that the 37,400 km 2 Balkhash District contains just 30,700 inhabitants who live mainly in 34 settlements near lakes and streams. The region's economic activity emphasizes pasture-based animal husbandry, recreational and commercial fishing, and extraction of minerals, and it is based on maximum exploitation of water and other natural resources [24][25][26][27]. Due to the extremely arid climate and high energy costs, irrigation for agriculture is only possible in two small gravity-fed areas near the Ili River (Figure 1).…”