Studying of Some Bacterial Contamination Characteristics of Hassanlu Reservoir Lake for Fish Cage Culture

Microbial contaminants entering the aquatic environments can endanger the health of swimmers, sailors, tourists, fishermen, fish cage culture personnel, as well as the production and quality of aquatic food. In the present study, some bacterial contamination characteristics of Hassanlu Reservoir Lake were investigated for fish cage culture monthly at different sites (stations 1, 2 and 3: the south shore of the lake / the villages adjacent to Hasanlu; station 4: the dam’s exit; stations 5, 6 and 7: the north shore of the lake / the Mahabad-Urmia road; station 8: the middle of the lake where cage culture of rainbow trout were installed; and station 9: the mouth of the Godar River) during April 2017 to March 2018. The results showed an increase in total and fecal coliforms as well as E. coli contamination in seasons with higher temperature. The amount of microbial load in the upstream station – station 9- (river inlets) and also the station 1 (rural area) were greater than the middle and crown stations of the Hasanlu reservoir lake. The microbial indices of Hassanlou lake indicated that if other biological and non-biological factors are in the range of bio-economic life of cultured fish, it would be suitable for fisheries exploitation such as catching and culturing of narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), however, caution should be exercised about culturing of edible oysters and aquatic life and cage culture. Therefore, it is suggested that management and monitoring programs be adopted with the cooperation of all relevant agencies to prevent or reduce the entry of various pollutants into these water bodies so that in the future the potential of Hasanlu Lake to develop other aquaculture production, and to reduce fishing pressure in water bodies as well as to help sustainable production and job creation in the region.