Hucho hucho (Linnaeus, 1758): last natural viable population in the Eastern Carpathians - conservation elements

Abstract

There is great variation in the conservation status of the last habitats with long-term natural viable populations of the salmon species Hucho hucho in Maramureş Mountains Nature Park, Eastern Carpathians (Romania). According to the specific guidelines for Natura 2000, 42.11% are in good conservation status, 31.57% are of average status, and 26.32% are in a partially degraded condition. In this study area, 6 main risk elements were identified related to human impact on the environment: poaching, minor riverbed morphodynamic changes, liquid and solid natural flow disruption, habitat fragmentation leading to isolation of fish populations, organic and mining pollution, and destruction of riparian tree and shrub vegetation. All of them have contributed to the decrease of H. hucho distribution in the study area to about 50% of the previous local range. Individuals of this species were recorded in only 21 of the 370 sampling stations.