Prohibition of fishing for all types of fish in wintering pits

Throughout their evolution, fish have adapted to significant changes in natural conditions. A reduction in daylight hours, a decrease in water temperature, a reduction in dissolved oxygen, and the scarcity or absence of food serve as signals for fish to prepare for overwintering. During this period, the vital processes of fish, including metabolism, respiration, and response to stimuli, slow down.

In natural conditions, fish overwinter in designated wintering pits or in deeper sections of water bodies. Fish of typically the same species and age congregate in these areas, ensuring the most favorable conditions for overwintering. Many species of thermophilic fish, such as bream, carp, and tench, gather in large schools and move to wintering pits.

During the winter period, the behavior of underwater predators also changes. For example, catfish, when ice covers the water body, hide in depressions, settling into the soft silt, and enter a state of dormancy, occasionally moving their fins and long barbels. Catfish often gather in wintering pits in considerable groups.

As a rule, the same "wintering pits" are used by fish annually. Their change occurs only in artificial water bodies with unstable levels (reservoirs, ponds).

Fish in wintering pits become easily accessible prey. Therefore, during the fish overwintering period, additional protective measures are necessary to prevent their mass capture in "wintering pits." In accordance with the Rules of Amateur Fishing and the Rules of Fishery Management in the Fishing Grounds of the Republic of Belarus, fishing for all species of fish in wintering pits is prohibited from October 1 to April 15.

The list of wintering pits is determined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food jointly with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and is published on the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

        Please be advised that fishing in wintering pits during the closed season is subject to administrative liability under Article 16.25 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses, in the form of a fine ranging from 10 to 30 base units, with confiscation of fishing gear or other aquatic animal capture tools and other items used as tools or means of committing the said violation. If the damage caused amounts to 100 or more base units, criminal liability is incurred under Article 281 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.   

The Government of Belarus has approved the Water Resources Management Strategy until 2040.

It provides for the achievement of a number of target indicators:

▪️The provision of the population with centralized water supply should reach 96%, and with centralized sewerage – 83%;

▪️The share of surface water bodies assigned a good or higher ecological status should reach 85%.