The ALROSA Ecology Center launched the first stage of its large-scale rivers stocking programme on May 27 with the release of one million vendace fry into the Lena River near the town of Lensk, in Yakutia, Russia. The programme will be conducted over four stages.

The Center aims to stock the rivers Lena and Vilyui, the Vilyui hydroelectric plant reservoir; and the Timir-Kunda Lake in the Verkhnevilyui region this year.

Under the programme, the water bodies are stocked with indigenous fish species such as vendace, teal, sturgeon and peled.

“Every year ALROSA together with the local Chernyshevsky fish hatchery stock water bodies in the region,” said Alyona Dyakonova, head of water resources protection and subsoil use at ALROSA Ecology Center. “The company treats replenishment and conservation of biological diversity as one of the most important environmental tasks. The 2019 increase in funding allowed expanding the stocking area and a number of fish species. As a result, in 2020 we initiated stocking Lena with Siberian vendace, and plan a further development of the programme.”

Due to financing provided by ALROSA to the Chernyshevsky fish hatchery in 2019, it was able to reproduce not only peled and vendace, but also valuable species such as the Siberian sturgeon and chir (Coregonus nasus).

“This year, ecologists will release one million сhir fry into the rivers Vilyui and Lena,” ALROSA affirmed. “It will be the first such stocking in Yakutia.”