An assessment of regulation, education practices and socio-economic perceptions of non-native aquatic species in the Balkans

Abstract

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Overlooked keystone species in conservation plans of fluvial ecosystems in Southeast Europe: a review of native freshwater crayfish species

“…A common ground for the implementation of legislation between the EU and its neighbouring countries has been proposed but has not yet been applied (Piria et al, 2017). Only Montenegro aligned its legislative framework with the EU Alien Regulation 1143/2014 on non-native species (Piria et al, 2021).…”

Changing climate may mitigate the invasiveness risk of non-native salmonids in the Danube and Adriatic basins of the Balkan Peninsula (south-eastern Europe)

“…However, because of: (i) Regulation (EU) no. 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species and (ii) Council Regulation (EC) No 708/2007 of 11 June 2007 concerning the use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture, plus (iii) national law, the introduction of new species for aquaculture in countries which are part of the European Union is becoming increasingly difficult (Piria et al 2017(Piria et al , 2021a.…”

“…However, in countries that are not part of the EU (e.g. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia), hence do not need to abide by the above EU regulations (Piria et al 2021a), the introduction of new species in aquaculture relies only on local laws and regulations, which do not include any risk assessment. If an escape eventually occurs, monitoring programmes could be used as an early-warning system before the new species becomes established.…”

“…For example, in Serbia, stocking is limited by law to native species only (Official Gazette 2018) with penalties for misdemeanours as in the case of stocking occurring not under professional control (Official Gazette 2005). Similarly, in Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, local fisheries acts and mandatory management plans regulate stocking activities and prevent or limit possibilities for the stocking of non-native species (Vehanen et al 2020;Piria et al 2021a). Despite existing legislation in the countries of the risk assessment area to prevent stocking of rivers and streams with non-native fish, there are still possible pathways that mediate new (unauthorised) introductions by anglers and escapees from aquaculture (Britton et al 2011;Cerri et al 2018).…”

Risk of invasiveness of non-native fishes in the South Caucasus biodiversity and geopolitical hotspot

“…In the European Union, policies, legislation and management approaches have been developed to address the issue of non-native species, based on Regulation (EU) no. 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (Piria et al 2017(Piria et al , 2021. However, countries outside of the EU do not have an obligation to follow these rules and usually lack national legislation, which represents an additional problem for non-native species management (Piria et al 2021).…”