Trouts in Montenegro

There are two major watersheds in Montenegro, the first belonging to the Danube basin, principally draining first into the Sava, and the second discharging via Skadar lake into the Adriatic Sea. The main Adriatic draining rivers are the Morača, Zeta and Bojana, whilst the rivers Tara, Lim, Cehotina and Piva are the main watercourses of the Danubian basin in Montenegro.

Trout in Montenegro are extraordinarily diverse in their morphology, behavior and ecological characteristics; this is probably one of the main reasons why they were of such great interest historically to many investigators. The first manuscript mentioning Montenegrin trout was written by Heckel & Kner in 1858. From thereafter trout from Montenegrin rivers attracted many other investigators. Dr. Stanko Karaman, a well known ichthyologist from the former Yugoslavia Republic, who invented a highly controversial classification for different Balkan trout lineages, got some of his inspiration when studying trout diversity in Montenegro. He described two new species in Montenegro (Salmo taleri in 1932, and Salmo montenigrinus in 1933), which have never again been confirmed. Most importantly, in 1962, Hađišče described a new subspecies of softmouth trout from the Zeta river, Salmo (Salmothymus) obtusirostris zetenzis. Another interesting issue refers to Salmo dentex that was first described by Heckel in 1851 in the rivers Krka, Cetina and Neretva; according to the literature (Taler, 1954; Drecun, 1958; Vuković, 1963; Ivanović, 1973), this species occurs also in Montenegro in Lake Skadar and its tributaries, referring to a distinctive trout named "strun" by the local population

Despite the apparent complexity and disputed taxonomy of Salmo in Montenegro, no systematic study has been undertaken to resolve the legitimacy of the various operational taxonomic units. One of the main goals of the Balkan restoration group has been therefore to describe the genetic structure of trout populations in Montenegro (via the use of mtDNA as well as other genetic markers), and determine the degree of concordance between genetic relationships and currently recognized operational taxonomic group based on previous morphological observations (i.e., with proposed species names).

Salmonids inhabiting the Danubian drainage system in Montenegro:

• Grayling (Thymallus thymallus), native
• Huchen (Hucho hucho), native
• Brown trout, (Salmo trutta), native
• Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), introduced
• Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), introduced

Salmonid taxa inhabiting the Adriatic drainage system in Montenegro:

• Grayling (Thymallus thymallus), introduced in upper course of river Morača

Hekel & Kner, 1858. Die Süsswasserfische der Österreichen Monarchie. Leipzig, xii+388.
Karaman, 1932. Ribarski list, Sarajevo, 7: 1-3.
Karaman, 1933. Ribarski list, Sarajevo, 8: 104-106.
Hadžišče, 1962. Zavod za rib. Na NR Makedonia, 3: 39-49.
Heckel, 1851. Sitzungsberrichte der Akademie der Wissenschoften. Wien, 347-390.
Taler, 1954. Glasnik prirodnjačkog muzeja Srpske zemlje. Ser. B, knj. 5-6, Beograd
Drecun et al., 1958. Biološko-ribarstvena istraživanja rijeke Morače, njenih pritoka i rikavačkog jezera, Titograd.
Vuković, 1963. Ribe Bosne i Hercegovine. Sarajevo.
Ivanović, 1973. Ichthyofauna of Skadar Lake. Titograd.