Grayling [Thymallus thymallus (L.)] in the lower part of the Rautalampi watercourse, Finnish Lake District

Comparative biology and management of Arctic and European grayling (Salmonidae, Thymallus)

“…The eastern distribution of European grayling overlaps with the western Siberian limits of the Arctic grayling, at least along the Kara River system (JankoviC, 1964). Novo (1981), Eloranta (1983), Woolland (1986a), Gardiner (1992), Liversedge (1992), and Maitland and Campbell (1992).…”

“…For those reported on by Kristiansen (1980), about 50% of the males matured at 3 years but less so for females and at age 4 all males and 90% of the females reached maturity, spawning annually thereafter. All were sexually mature by 4 years in a Finnish population (Eloranta, 1983). Balon (1962) provides information on age at maturity for Slovakian riverine populations, showing that most males spawned for the first time at an age of only 2 years and females of the same year class a year later.…”

“…European grayling also are spring spawners, usually from late March or April to June at temperatures of 4 to 7 °C but sometimes up to nearly 15 °C (Jankovir, 1964;Kristiansen, 1980;Eloranta, 1983;Maisse et al, 1987;Carlstein, 1991;Gardiner, 1992;Maitland and Campbell, 1992).…”

“…Grayling support important sport fisheries in Sweden (Fabricius and Gustafson, 1955), as they have done since the 1900s in Finland where a 6.7 kg fish was caught from Lake Konnevesi in 1956 (Eloranta, 1983). In the Ukraine, heavy sport fishing has reduced abundance and changed population structure, especially by lowering the age of maturity (Zinov'ev, 1970;Zinov'ev and Bogdanov, 1975).…”

“…Details of grayling introductions in Yorkshire and elsewhere in England and Scotland are given by Magee (1994). The natural range of grayling has been extended into many Scottish rivers by 19th century introductions (Gardiner, 1992) as it has in mid-southern regions of Finland (Eloranta, 1983) and at least one area in Spain (Granado Lorienco and Garcia Novo, 1981).…”