The fish resources of Lake Peipsi are very important both for Russia and Estonia offering employment to altogether more than 1 000 profesional fishermen. In many coastal willages the commercial fishery is till now the main employer. In addition the fish resource of Lake Peipsi is harvested by about 50 000 recreational fishermen per year including high percentage of fishermen from Latvia. Half of the fish species inhabiting Lake Peipsi are dependent on tributaries as spawning areas on the ecological quality of rivers as spawning and nursery areas and migrating routes. A good example of fish migrating long distances to the spawning areas in the Emaj?River (length 100 km) system is bream (annual catch about 230 tonns). Meanders and shallow lakes connected to River Emaj?with surrounding flood meadows useful for haymaking and grazing are attractive spawning grounds for this species.However these areas are often adversely affected by drainage pollution and inexpedient regulation of the water level. Therefore the main idea of the planned project is to investigate and describe the most important spawning areas and prepare a comprehensive management plan for protection and sustainable use for these ecosystems that affect the stock of fish in Lake Peipsi.