ABSTRACT
The permanent increase in the exploitation of commercial fish species has led to the need for developing practical and effective tools for the sustainability assessment and management of the target fish populations. The aim of this study was to formulate an ESHIPPOfishing model which would provide a reliable assessment of commercial fish population sustainability and indicate the conservation priorities. The existing ESHIPPO model was modified by introducing a new Index of local sustainability of fish populations (ILSFP) which enables the selection of "keystone populations" and "keystone habitats/ecosystems" within the basin being investigated. We employed a self-organizing map (SOM) in order to visualize the spatial distribution of the keystone populations and keystone habitats/ecosystems for each fish species. Based on the ILSFP values, environmental specialization (ES) of a fish species and local environmental factors (HIPPO factors), the model estimates the degree of sustainability (DS) of commercial fish populations in the freshwater ecosystems of the western Balkan Peninsula. The results indicate a low degree of sustainability for the majority of commercial fish species of the Middle Danube Basin, especially Acipenser ruthenus and Hucho hucho. The ESHIPPOfishing model presents a cost effective conservation approach, formulated to be applicable to any kind of river basin. The application of the ESHIPPOfishing model provides a comprehensive insight into the viability of target fish populations, which would not only further improve the selection of conservation priorities, but also facilitate the management of aquatic ecosystems.
