Artificial reproduction of the "Eifeler brown trout"
The fishing association Prüm 1967 eV has been actively protecting species in the form of the offspring of the "Eifel brook trout" since 1991. The University of Mainz (Prof. Dr. Alfred Seitz) carried out the first genetic studies on the importance of the regional brown trout population. When creating a population genetic profile of the "Eifeler brown trout" by Prof. Dr. Arndt Schreiber and Dr. Michael Riffel from Heidelberg University, it turned out that the "Eifel brook trout" - if not different from that of the Rhine catchment area - formed the most homogeneous group of all trout in the Rhine catchment area. In the years that followed, the Prüm Fishing Association 1967 eV stripped many thousands of trout eggs from as many varieties of brown trout as possible from wild stocks and released the trout seedlings it yielded into several previously damaged Eifel streams to preserve the "Eifel brown trout" at a young age.
For this purpose, a specially built hatchery is operated, which is fed with 6 ° C cold, surface-independent water. Regular surveys of the populations of the occupied streams have shown that these measures, which are very time-consuming and labor-intensive for the fishing club Prüm 1967 eV, are crowned with success, since the wild brown trout are very true to location and reproduce particularly well. In this way, a self-reproducing stock could be established in many small streams. This is mainly due to the fact that only regional animals are used for breeding - autochthonous stocking - which means that the seedlings are already optimally adapted to their "new" environment through their genetic heritage. The biggest hurdle that stood in the way of breeding success were the scattered, partly unsafe ponds that were leased by the association. At this point, a cooperation agreement was concluded with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. This included the work in the species conservation project "Eifeler brown trout and river pearl mussel" and as a result the construction of the later pond system "In der Litzer".
This contract has existed for more than 25 years and has now led the association to international activity. In addition to the alliance partners in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, the EU life project river pearl mussel, in particular the "Hellef fir d'Natur" in Heinerscheid, also benefit from the work of the association. More about our colleagues from Our at: www.margaritifera.eu
