Environmental campaign "Make holes - save fish from freezing!"

Established frosts contribute to the formation of an ice crust on the surface of water bodies, which blocks the access of atmospheric air and oxygen, potentially leading to mass fish kills.

In some cases, winter fish kills can be caused by a high concentration of humic substances and ferrous oxide in the water, the oxidation of which is accompanied by a decrease in dissolved oxygen. Among the effective measures to prevent winter fish kills is the creation of ice holes in water bodies prone to fish kill phenomena. The number of ice holes depends on the area of the water body and averages 3-5 per hectare. Ice holes should be located in the center and along the perimeter of the water body, where the depth of the unfrozen layer is 50-60 cm. To prevent ice holes from freezing over, it is necessary to install sheaves made of reeds, cattails, and other hollow "breathing" plants in them, or to suspend bags of salt in such ice holes at a rate of 5 kg per bag. Technical salt, used for cleaning boilers in boiler rooms, can be recommended as salt.

If you detect a fish kill phenomenon, you must inform:
in leased or gratuitously used fishing grounds – lessees and users, as well as the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Fauna and Flora under the President of the Republic of Belarus;
in fishing grounds of the reserve fund – local executive and administrative bodies, the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Fauna and Flora under the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and its territorial bodies.