Sevan Trout

(also Gokcha trout; Salmo ischchan), a fish of the salmon family (Salmonidae). It is found only in the basin of Lake Sevan. It comprises five races that are distinguished by differences in time and place of spawning and rate of growth: the winter bakhtak and the bodzhak are lake fishes, the alabalakh is a river fish, and the summer bakhtak and the gegarkuni are diadromous fishes.

The Sevan trout is the largest trout found in the USSR: the bakhtak and the gegarkuni reach a length of 90 cm (they weigh up to 16 kg), and the bodzhak and alabalakh may measure up to 35 cm. It feeds chiefly on amphipods. The Sevan trout is the principal commercial fish in Lake Sevan. Fish 4-6 years old (28–33 cm long and weighing 340-560 g) predominate in catches. It is used as a food in fresh, frozen, and smoked form. Conditions of reproduction for this trout have deteriorated owing to the declining level of Lake Sevan. The breeding of Sevan trout in fish hatcheries plays a significant role in its reproduction. Sevan trout acclimatizes well in large lakes that have pure water. Gegarkuni has been introduced into Lake Issyk-Kul’, where it has successfully adapted, having developed a special form.