YEREVAN, July 10 /ARKA/. Restoration of Lake Sevan’s ecosystem requires a number of measures, Bardukh Gabrielyan, the director of Zoology and Hydroecology Research Center, an affiliation of the National Academy of Sciences, said to a news conference today. “First of all, it is necessary to raise the level of the lake,” he said.

Gabrielyan said the next measure is to stop throwing organic substances and phosphorus into the rivers that flow into the lake. Also it is necessary to install sewage treatment plants on the main rivers. "There are several such plants in the region, but they carry out only mechanical cleaning of sewage waters, which is not enough," he stressed.

Gabrielyan also called for continuing cleaning of the coastal area, which had been ceased for reasons unknown.

He also considers it necessary to restore fish stock. Gabrielyan said that currently there is a decline in stocks of fish, including crucian carp and crayfish. According to him, only the white fish population is growing, but even this indicator is insufficient.

Earlier, Gabrielyan said that according to his latest data for October 2018, the total fish stocks in the lake amounted to almost 3000 tons. Gabrielyan said that if these measures are implemented, the situation will normalize in 4-5 years. 

Lake Sevan  is the largest lake in Armenia and the South Caucasus region and  one of the largest fresh-water high-altitude lakes in the world. The lake is situated in the central part of the Republic of Armenia, at the altitude of over 1,900m above sea level. It is fed by 28 rivers and streams.  -0