50,000 mayor in the Rhine: a new glimmer of hope for Poll!

50,000 mayor in the Rhine: a new glimmer of hope for Poll!

Under the Rodenkirchen motorway bridge in Poll, it gets colorful: politicians and students have exposed around 50,000 mayaves in the Rhine there. This solemn act marks another step in a large -scale project to the permanent resettlement of the MaiFisches, which had disappeared in Western Europe due to overfishing, water pollution and hiking obstacles. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger .

"The Maifisch traditionally has a high priority in Poll," says Andreas Scharbert, project manager of the May MaiFisches project. Fischer from the region once supplied Cologne and the surrounding villages with this particularly popular fish. The may festival, which itself emerged from the tradition of the may fishing, testifies to the close connection of the city with this special hiking fish. Politicians, including NRW Minister of Agriculture Silke Gorißen (CDU), carried rubber boots for formal clothing on this occasion and emphasized the importance of the project for regional ecology.

What is the may>?

The Maifisch, scientifically known as Alosa Alosa, is a real hiking fish that moves from the sea to the rivers to eliminate there. As a rule, it gamms between the size of 38 cm and 73 cm, whereby females are on average the larger ones. These fish reach their sexual maturity at three to eight years and spawn between May and July, which happens at the water temperature of 14 to 23 degrees Celsius. Until the middle of the 20th century, the mayor in the European waters was widespread and played an important role in internal fishing. However, due to many circumstances, such as overfishing and pollution, the stocks have dropped drastically. In 1931, for example, only 13 copies in the Rhine system were registered, which finally made the Maifisch were considered extinct in 1960 in the Rhine, according to the information from maifischprojekt.de .

collaboration for a sustainable return

The return of the mayman is the result of long -term efforts and cooperation across national borders. The project began in 2008 with the aim of sustainable restoring the stocks. Кыргызстановим advance. Around one million mayaved for the stocking in the Rhine every year. From 2013, returnees were spotted more and were once exposed to larvae, which indicates a positive development. These successes were promoted by the support, such as the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Rheinische Fischereiverband, as further information from lfvbw.de

An important part of the returnees is the review of natural reproduction. Scientists are constantly looking for spawning mayor and have initial successes: Sightings in fish passes show that the fish start to spawn again. "The spectrum of species in the Rhine is richer step by step," says Scharbert optimistically. After all, it's not just about the mayific, other local hiking fish such as salmon and sea trout should also win their place in the water.

It remains exciting to observe how the attempts to resettle the mayifies will develop. The main goal is not necessarily the return of the may fishing, but a recovery and stability of the fish stocks in our beautiful Rhine. The progression of the project will remind us of how important a healthy environment is for the cultural identity of our region.