Burbot: Ecology, Management, and Culture

A Preliminary Evaluation of Reintroductions of Burbot in Flanders, Belgium

Alain Dillen, Inne Vught, Daniel De Charleroy, David Monnier, and Johan Coeck

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781888569988.ch11

Abstract.—Our objectives were to study whether or not reintroductions of larvae and juvenile burbot Lota lota L. in Flanders, Belgium were successful. Burbot were reintroduced to three rivers in Flanders, Belgium. In spring 2005, a total of 2,000,000 larvae in yolk sac stage were released in two rivers, Grote Nete and Bosbeek. However, no burbot were recaptured during summer electrofishing, suggesting that this reintroduction attempt had failed. Reintroducing older larvae (e.g., 6-week-old larvae) may be a more successful approach but was not further investigated in this study. A second reintroduction attempt involved the release of 3,000 juvenile burbot (age 0+) in the same two rivers during fall 2005. During winter season (2005–2006), we were able to recapture burbot in both rivers. In fall 2006, 1,400 juvenile burbot were released in a third river, the Maarkebeek, and 2 months later, some were recaptured. In all three rivers, burbot showed fast growth and all burbot were in good visual condition, suggesting that juvenile burbot of age 0+ may offer reasonable probabilities for successful reintroductions. However, low numbers of recaptures suggest that reintroductions should be repeated for several successive years to obtain a self-sustaining population.