Fishermen, Environmentalists Call for Motorboat Ban
Members of the scientific and fishing communities are urging authorities to ban the use of motorboats on small lakes where, they say, fish and a rare form of algae are under threat.
Lilian Freiberg, a University of Life Sciences limnology specialist, said that the algae in question, a fascinating-looking species called lake ball, has been wiped out in other areas of the world, but is still thriving in Lake Viljandi and four other Estonian lakes.
However the algae, which is listed internationally as an endangered species, is fragile and is being damaged by the use of motorized watercraft, Freiberg told Postimees.
"When the waves are too big, it destroys it," Freiberg said. "Wind-generated waves will help the colonies form, but when boats are racing overhead they are pushed to the shore where they die."
Despite Freiberg's reporting the situation to municipal authorities in Viljandi, a motorboat competition was held on the lake on a July weekend.
After the event, local fishermen turned to the Society for Nature Conservation, reporting sightings of worrying numbers of dead fish. The society has forwarded the information to the Ministry of the Environment.
Both the society and Frieberg advocate banning motorboats from Lake Viljandi, with Frieberg calling for them to be kept off all of the country's small lakes.
The Viljandi City Council will begin discussing the matter on August 1.
Steve Roman