Ichthyofauna Of Paravani And Saghamo Lakes: An Updated Appraisal

Saghamo (surface area 4.8 km²) and Paravani (surface area 37.5 km²) lakes are located in Javakheti
upland at an altitude of 2000-2100 m. The distance between them is just 10 km and is connected with
the river Paravani. Since ancient time Javakheti was known for its rich fish stocks and until recently
Paravani and Saghamo lakes had significant importance in commercial fisheries point of view. The
aims of the proposed study were twofold: to determine the modern fish community composition of
Saghamo and Paravani lakes; to assess some population parameters of the fish species. Fish samples
were collected from Saghamo and Paravani Lake, during 2014-2016 years (3 seasons) by gill nets.
Totally 8 fish species with 1122 (809 from Saghamo and 313 from Paravani) individuals were collected.
The results has shown that fish species diversity and population structure has changed compering to
historical data. Several species (Cyprinus carpio, Rutilus rutilus) which were inhabiting this lakes are
not appearing nowadays. In spite of Paravani lake is several times bigger than Saghamo lake, an
ichthyofauna of Saghamo lake is more diverse and fish population are more stable.