RECREATIONAL FISHING AND FISHING TOURISM AS A TYPE OF RECREATION AND SPORTS NATURE USE IN LVIV REGION
Authors: Khudoba Volodymyr , Khudoba Oksana 
Published: August 2023

Over the past decade, there has been a gradual shift away from mass recreation and tourism to individual forms which characterized by the diversity and specificity of the needs of people who seek to experience pleasant memories and get unforgettable impressions. Recreational fishing and fishing tourism take their place among those types of active recreation that meet new trends in the recreational needs of society.

Due to the rich fish resources, the reservoirs of Lviv region are intensively used for recreational fishing, and also have further prospects for the development of fishing tourism.

The aim of the article is to study the prerequisites and features of recreational fishing in Lviv region, as the predominant type of recreational and sports nature use of surface waters of the region, also prospects for the development of fishing tourism.

The fishing potential of water bodies significantly affects the scale of their recreational use. It is important that the hydrological and hydrochemical regime of the reservoir be optimal for the restoration of fish resources, and the conditions for its implementation, transport accessibility and the infrastructure of reservoirs can be attributed to the factors affecting recreational fishing.

There are 64 species of fish in the region, but the priority objects of recreational fishing are C. carpio, C. idella, H. molitrix, T. tinca, C. gibelio, A. brama, E. lucius, P. fluviatilis, S. lucioperca , also in the mountainous part of the region – trout S. trutta and A. linnaeus.

There are 2,522 rivers in Lviv region with a total length of 11,574.55 km. The rivers of the region are rich in fish resources and are used to a greater extent for recreational fishing, and appropriate infrastructure is needed for sport fishing and fishing tourism.

Today, specially equipped reservoirs – lakes, ponds, reservoirs and other reservoirs (pits, technical reservoirs) play main role in recreational and sport fishing in Lviv region. Yavoriv, Stryi, Chervonohrad, Lviv and Zolochiv districts are best equipped with flat water bodies, Sambir and Drohobych districts are least equipped.

After the analysis of the popular fishing resources goldfishnet, rivnefish, fishmapia, fishub, 186 flat water bodies used for recreational fishing in Lviv region were inventoried. The largest number of them is in the Lviv and Stryi districts, where there are 76 and 41 reservoirs, respectively. The smallest number of flat-water bodies that are actively involved in this type of nature management is located in the Sambir and Drohobych districts, 7 and 9 objects, respectively.

Almost all water bodies are developed for amateur fishing, only a small part of them is used for sport fishing. They can be divided into two groups: equipped reservoirs - the main purpose of which is sport and recreational fishing among amateurs and athletes, and equipped artificial reservoirs located on the territory of recreation complexes. In total, there are 25 recreation complexes on the territory of the region, which, in addition to fishing, provide other services. The largest number of such recreation complexes is located in Lviv district - 12 units, Stryi - 8, Drohobych and Chervonograd - 2 each, and Yavoriv - one complex.

Recreational fishing and fishing tourism can become a very profitable branch of the country's economy, if legislative regulation of fishing rules and methods is established, and the infrastructure for comfortable recreation of Ukrainians and foreigners is improved. Lviv region has good prerequisites for the further development of recreational fishing and fishing tourism. First of all, this is facilitated by the resource component and the growing number of fishermen. The increased demand for high-quality fishing grounds with comprehensive service starting from the organization of transfer, accommodation and food will popularize this type of tourism in our region.

Keywords: fishing, recreational and sports nature use, surface waters, fishing tourism, recreation.