The symbolic fish of Lake Garda returns to the water after five years of prohibition

24 February 2026

 

Nearly 33 million young whitefish have been released into Lakes Garda and Iseo, where the 2025–2026 campaign promoted by the Lombardy Region is coming to an end. Incubation and restocking operations show solid figures in Lake Iseo and a clear improvement in Lake Garda compared to previous activities. The announcement was made by the Regional Councillor for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Alessandro Beduschi.

Beduschi: success for whitefish stocking in Lakes Garda and Iseo

“The 2025–2026 campaign,” Beduschi emphasized, “has truly important significance, because it marks the return of whitefish to Lake Garda after five years of a forced halt due to a ban that we were able to overcome thanks to an ‘ad hoc’ legislative intervention by Parliament and a swift authorization measure by the Lombardy Region. We applaud the joint work of professional fishermen, technicians, Provincial Police and the Region, as well as the decision to combine field experience with updated protocols capable of improving the effectiveness of operations.”

The campaign

The campaign concerned the reproduction of whitefish through the authorized capture of wild breeders and the subsequent stripping and fertilization of over 51 million eggs in the regional fish hatcheries of Clusane d’Iseo and Desenzano del Garda (Brescia). From this production, 5,000,000 larvae were introduced into Lake Iseo between 11 and 13 February 2026, distributed between the lower and upper parts of the lake in the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo. In Lake Garda, there were nine distribution evenings, with approximately 28 million larvae released in various locations along the Brescia shoreline.

Reproductive campaigns continue in 2026

In 2026, the planned production campaigns for both lakes will also continue, with the release of marble trout, pike and tench into Lake Iseo, and marble trout and pike into Lake Garda. In Lake Garda, the experimental reproduction program for carpione also continues, which has already enabled the stocking of approximately 10,000 specimens thanks to new protocols developed with technical partners.

Whitefish integrated into our lake ecosystems

“Whitefish,” stated the Regional Councillor, “is a species that has integrated perfectly into the balance of our lake ecosystems and is a reference point for professional fishing and the economy of lakeside communities.”

“This result,” Beduschi concluded, “confirms that the Lombardy Region does not stand still in the face of local needs, but has instead intervened to ensure continuity for a species which, despite having been present in Lake Garda for centuries, some persist in considering alien.”

Read the article: https://www.lombardianotizie.online/coregoni-laghi-garda-iseo/