Fish community responses to pulp and paper mill effluents at the southern Lake Saimaa, Finland.

Abstract The fish community in sublittoral and profundal waters, at stony shores, and densities of vendace larvae were studied in the southern Lake Saimaa, Finland. The objective was to investigate the possible recovery of fish populations after modernizations at the pulp and paper mills discharging into the lake. Sublittoral and profundal waters were studied by gill net trial fishings, stony shores by electrofishing, and vendace larvae by beach seine. The research area was divided in a polluted (0.5–4.0% effluent), an intermediate (0.1–0.5%) and a ‘clean’ reference area. The fish community in sublittoral and profundal waters in the lake was dominated (>60%) by perch and roach. Relative abu…