By its geographical location, the permanent Ak-Gyol lake, which is intrazonal, belongs to the type of small lakes. The lake has a round-rectangular shape. It is fed by groundwater (80%), as well as atmospheric precipitation (20%). The basin of the lake of marine origin was formed by the separation of the accumulative spit of the sea lagoon from the shore. The shores of the lake are often steep, in places precipitous.
In recent decades, there has been a significant deterioration in the ecological state of the lake due to increased anthropogenic load. Meanwhile, the lake is classified as a water body of fishery importance of the highest category.
Until the mid-1980s, the lake was used as a fattening reservoir for commercial fish farming. In subsequent years, due to the cessation of fish farming, the lake was transferred to the Makhachkala city administration and is used for recreational purposes, with periodic stocking.
In the first ten days of October 2024, employees of the West Caspian department of the Volga-Caspian branch of the Russian State Research Center “All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography” (VNIRO) conducted research on Lake Ak-Gel. During the research, the average depth of the lake was 2 m, the maximum was 4 m, the temperature was +23 °C.
The purpose of the research was to determine the state of its ichthyofauna. The work was carried out using fishing gear such as “fixed nets” and “drag”.
During the work, 185 specimens were caught in one sweep on an area of 150 m2 using a “drag” type fishing gear. fish of the carp family. In terms of species, these are 102 crucian carp, 63 common carp, 11 silver carp and 9 grass carp. There was no catch in fixed nets. No valuable or particularly valuable aquatic biological resources were observed in the catches.
VNIRO Press Service
