348
for a total weight of 1600 kg (Eusébio and Reynouard 1925 ).
Catches of other species varied, and catches of Atlantic
salmon and huchen, like brown trout, started to dwindle.
However, these different species introduced were already
being challenged.
In his book The Freshwater Fish of France, Emile
Blanchard ( 1866 ) writes “ Mr. Lecoq, of Clermont-Ferrand,
received from the Conseil Général du Puy-de-Dôme the
same assistance as Mr. Gervais (in charge of propagating
salmonids in the Hérault department ndl) and also reported
on his fi sh farming trials. In the same department, Mr. Rico
took charge of propagating salmon in still waters, and Mr.
Gillet de Grandmont, reporting on his experiences, confi rms
that two specimens of this species were caught in Lake Pavin,
one having attained a weight of 500 g, the other weighing
700 g ”. Blanchard questions the value of this introduction
and expresses regret that those responsible had not read the
history of salmon in order to avoid a predictable failure. He
denounced the profusion with which the Pisciculture of
Huningue released salmon, whitefi sh, and other Arctic char,
claiming that “ reading the history of salmon would have
reduced expectations which were based upon the lake of Bois
de Boulogne, Saint-Cucufa pond near Paris, Lake Pavin in
Auvergne, etc.... ”.
Over time, different lake farmers released many other
species, including Scottish trout (Loch Leven), brook trout
( Salvelinus fontinalis ), rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiis ),
whitefi sh ( Coregonus fera and maroena ), and eel ( Anguilla
anguilla ).
Charles Bruyant ( 1908 ), in his “Rectifi cation of the
Ichthyologic Fauna of Auvergne” assesses the situation con-
cerning whitefi sh and Arctic char in these words: “ On the
affi rmation of our predecessors, we had indicated in a previ-
ous work the presence of Coregonus Fera (Jur) in some of
our lakes, such as Chauvet. Mr. Berthoule, in his work on the
lakes of Auvergne, also mentions 25,000 Coregonus Fera fry
from Huningue released into the lake Landie. As noted by
Professor Forel, these Feras from Huningen certainly
couldn’t be Coregonus Fera (Jur.) from Lake Geneva, but
rather Blaufelchen , Coregonus Whartmanni (Bloch) from
Lake Constance, which Huninge has been disseminating for
a long time now; it is only recently that the Thonon
Pisciculture Station has been successful in the very diffi cult
incubation of Fera eggs. We are therefore bound to apply to
Coregonus Whartmanni (Bloch) that said previously of the
Fera imported into the Auvergne under these conditions. The
introduction into our lakes of these Coregones does not seem
to have produced great results. The same cannot be said for
the Arctic char which is thriving in Lake Pavin. It was in
1860 that the fi rst fry were released into the lake by Lecoq
and Rico. Currently, we catch this species far more often
than trout. Hybrids of trout and “Ombre” obtained by Rico
in 1872, and reported in Raveret-Wattel’s classic treatise
(T. II, p. 224), are actually hybrids of trout and Salvelinus ,
not Thymallus which has never existed in the Pavin. The
error is once again due to the confusion between the two
names , “ Ombre ” and “ Omble ” (Rico wrote “ Ombre ” ), which
continues today. C. Bruyant 1908.
By the early twentieth century, roach, tench, eel, salmon,
and rainbow trout seem to have disappeared, which given
what is known of the life cycles of some of these species, is
not really surprising. Evidence from several sources (Eusébio
and Reynouard 1925 ; Olivier 1939 ) suggests that whitefi sh
disappeared. Crayfi sh thrived, but the author states out that
they did not go on to populate the Couze Pavin.
Luc Olivier ( 1939 ) drew up a table reviewing the intro-
ductions made into many lakes around the Mont-Dore based
on previous data. He concluded that:- the natural species are gudgeon, minnows, and
stickleback - the introduced species that since disappeared are eel,
whitefi sh ( Coregonus fera and Coregonus maraena ),
roach, huchen, salmon, brook trout, rainbow trout, and
trout from Loch Leven ( Lochleveni ) - tests on lake trout ( fario lacustris ) and Arctic char were
conclusive.
21.3 Evolution of the Population
Between Introduction and Trophic
ChangesThe species described by Olivier ( 1939 ) remained present in
the lake until the 1950s. Few studies were conducted before
the 1990s, when many lake compartments were studied. The
fi sh fauna, considered artifi cial, was neglected; with lake
farmers only setting nets to catch char to eat—catches that
included a few brown trout and white-clawed crayfi sh. The
lake is the property of the inhabitants of Besse, and its man-
agement is delegated to the municipality, which allows the
farmer to catch char for his restaurant.
The biggest changes to have taken place since the writ-
ings of Olivier ( 1939 ) are:- The appearance of a very large population of European
perch ( Perca fl uviatilis ), which may have been introduced
into the lake in the 1950s by a lake farmer. The total
disappearance of stickleback may be linked to the pres-
ence of a predator such as the common perch. - The more recent appearance of species whose presence is
linked to increased recreational fi shing on the lake.
F. D e s m o l l e s