RIGERS BAKIU1,2*, ELVIS KAMBERI1, EDMOND HALA1
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1 Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Agricultural University of Tirana, Koder-Kamez, Tirane, Albania Abstract Pumpkinseed fish is considered to be highly invasive; it has demonstrated great variability in its environmental biology in response to environmental conditions, since its first appearance in the European waters this species has established populations in at least 28 European countries. In Albania, pumpkinseed, was introduced in 1994, even though the pathways of its introduction are not very clear. Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) risk identification screening tools was used to assess the invasiveness potential of pumpkinseed fish, Lepomis gibbosus, in Ohrid and Prespa lakes, in order to evaluate the current or future impacts of this non-native fish species. The basic AS-ISK score of 38.3 suggests the species poses a high risk of being invasive, and this risk is expected to even higher in the future, taking in consideration the potential effects of climate change (AS-ISK Climate Change Assessment = 49.7). This study was the first application of AS-ISK in Albania, and the results suggest that it can be a useful decisionsupporttool for informing legislation, policy and management of potential, existing and future, undesired translocations of non-native freshwater fish species in the country. Keywords: Biological Invasion; Risk Analyses, Non-native Species, Ohrid lake, Prespa lakes |