Standardized methodology for the study of fishes in lakes (Projet Lac)

Projet Lac was a large-scale research project carried out by Eawag (Department Fish Ecology and Evolution, Guy Periat, Pascal Vonlanthen, Ole Seehausen) and the University of Bern (Ole Seehausen), funded by Eawag, the University of Bern, the FOEN and various cantons. The aim was to conduct a nationwide and comparative fish ecological survey of lakes and to describe fish diversity in a standardized way. All larger Swiss lakes were investigated.

The report, now available, summarizes the methodological lessons learned from “Projet Lac” and recommends a standardized methodology for the study of fish population in lakes. The present method offers users an optimized ratio of data quality, fish mortality and effort. Thus, for the first time in Switzerland, a standardized and broadly applicable fishing method is available to record the fish population of standing waters, which is also compatible with other EU methods.

Note: This publication is not an enforcement aid of the Confederation but an expert report.

Recorded parameters

Fish population of a lake and its diversity

Evaluation

The method does not currently provide for an evaluation method of the fish population