the former Yugoslav Republic of MACEDONIA

Just published, The Fish of Prespa—a 150-page guide to the many species of fish in the Prespa lakes -  offers readers the country’s first ever comprehensive description of the extraordinary forms of life found in the lakes and extensive information about the changing conditions of these ancient waters.   

Amongst the oldest freshwater tectonic lakes in the world, the Prespa lakes are home to some 23 different types of fish, with nine of these being unique endemic species and several—such as the Prespa Trout and the Prespa Barbel—now at high risk of extinction.

 
“The focus is on practical information,” explains the book’s main author, Zoran Spirkovski, from the Ohrid Hydrobiological Institute, “showing what the local population, scientists and decision-makers can do to combat over-fishing and reverse the effects of pollution so that the fish of Prespa have a future.” 

 
UNDP provided technical support for the new publication as part of the project for Integrated Ecosystems Management in the Prespa Lakes basin. The Fish of Prespa is one of numerous initiatives supported by UNDP to help protect the country’s natural biodiversity from further depletion and support protected areas. 

In 2010. UNDP supported country’s first official National Catalogue of Species detailing some 17,604 different animals and identifying those in need of protection—including a number of endangered mammals such as the Balkan Lynx, the Marbled Polecat, the Brown Bear, wildcats, otters and wolves.

 
The Fish of Prespa has been designed to appeal to and inform the general reader. With its glossy pictures and a text translated into the three main languages of the countries that share the lake region, the book is certain to increase public awareness of the rich biodiversity of the lakes and the steps that need to be taken to ensure the long-term future of the precious and vulnerable life-forms in the waters.