At the end of January 2026, research was conducted along the western coast of the Volkhov Bay of Lake Ladoga and in the Volkhov River near its mouth. Working jointly with staff from the Department of State Control, Supervision, and Fisheries Protection for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region of the Northwest Territorial Administration of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, the number of recreational fishermen in the waters on weekdays and weekends was estimated, the average number of fishing gear per fisherman was determined, and data on the species composition of the catch was collected.
Due to persistent subzero temperatures, a stable ice cover had formed on Lake Ladoga by mid-January: the ice thickness in the southern bays of Ladoga, including the Volkhov Bay, was approximately 15 cm.
Due to freezing weather (down to -24°C during the day, down to -30°C at night), no more than 25 recreational fishermen were observed on the ice along the western shore of the Volkhov Bay on weekends, while on weekdays this number increased to 30-35.
Surveys showed that each fisherman had one to two ice fishing rods equipped with a spoon or jig. In the coastal zone, tip-ups for pike were actively used. The catches were predominantly perch, with occasional roach and pike, and white bream in the Volkhov River. The average catch per fisherman was approximately 1.5 kg.
Press service of VNIRO