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SGD - North 25-09-17
SGD Nord: photovoltaic system for the species protection project
"Eifel brown trout" - Around 75,000 euros in funding to the fishing club Prüm
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate supported the “Eifeler brown trout” conservation project on the Our with around EUR 75,000. With the funds, the fishing club Prüm was able to build a photovoltaic system for ventilation and water circulation of the fish farm "In der Litzer". The Structural and Approval Directorate (SGD) North, as the upper fisheries authority, is responsible for the financial handling of the support.
“With the promotion of this measure and with the annual support of the association of 7,500 euros, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is helping to spread the brown trout and to preserve this endangered species. In addition, the work done by the Prüm fishing association on a voluntary basis can be seen as a trend-setting project for the management of flowing waters, ”said SGD North President Dr. Ulrich Kleemann.
In cooperation with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the pond "In der Litzer" was created for the breeding of the Eifel brook trout and a hatchery was built. The Prüm fishing club has been successfully breeding Eifel brown trout there for 26 years. The endangered animals are raised in the pond and released back after a year. The aim is to stabilize the stock of animals in the streams and rivers of the Eifel.
The content-related species conservation project "Preservation of the river pearl mussel" also benefits from the measures of the association. The Eifel brook trout are particularly suitable as host animals for the larvae of the river pearl mussel. The young trout in the pond facilities of the association are infected with the larvae of the pearl mussel and can ripen in the gills of the trout for nine months before they fall off.
However, due to the low rainfall in the summer periods of the past few years, the association had to pay very high diesel costs for the pump units used to ventilate the breeding pools of the pond system. In order to avoid the use of expensive diesel fuel, the association carried out a study on the electrification of the pond system. The result led to a self-sufficient photovoltaic system. The procurement of the facility was financed 100 percent by the joint border fisheries commission, which consists of Luxembourg and the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
Background:
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate supports two related conservation projects in the area of Prüm and in the area of Seving / Dahnen (Our). The “Eifeler brown trout” project promotes the spread of domestic brown trout. The second project is concerned with the "conservation of the river pearl mussel" as the last left Rhine population in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The association of Prüm has acquired land for the construction of five fish ponds exclusively for this purpose. Funding was provided by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The "In der Litzer" facility was entrusted to the Prüm fishing association to carry out the conservation projects by lease.
Weekly mirror 08-09-17
Waters and fish are at risk
District of Bitburg / Prüm . Food warnings for fish, species extinction and a decline in stocks spoil fishing fun.
Predicament of the farmers
Holger Weber, member of the Biersdorf am See municipal council, sees a connection between algal bloom and the enormously increased maize cultivation area, which is particularly susceptible to soil erosion, through which fertilizers and toxins get into the water. Logical conclusion: reduce corn acreage. "That would be the most efficient measure, but it should provide explosives," Weber estimates. After all, agriculture had been lured for years by subsidies for the construction of biogas plants and the associated lucrative maize cultivation. »Subsidy policies and a lack of sales alternatives in the face of low milk and meat prices combined with rising additional costs have steered agriculture in this branch of production and often offer the only chance of survival for the farms.« Bil
The Eifel has numerous waters that make you want to go fishing, but what is pulled out of the water is not always safe. In addition, the decline in species tarnishes the pleasure.
Authorities issue food warnings, dead fish are floating on the Welschbilligerbach and it is not the first time that poisonous blue-green algae are spreading on the Moselle and the Bitburg reservoir. "It is particularly bad again this year," says Herbert Schneider, fisheries adviser to the Eifel district since 1995. The cause is an excessively high nutrient level in combination with sun exposure, which promotes algae growth. We recently reported that the Eifel was a "fishing paradise" because of its flowing waters and varied areas.
"We have very big problems," says Schneider, speaking of eutrophic waters, declining fish stocks and the displacement of native fish species by fish that do not belong here, such as the goby or the catfish. They make pike, zander and perch difficult for survival. The illegal stocking of catfish in Sauer, Our and Mosel will be the subject of the next meeting of the Border Fisheries Commission.
Schneider's criticism also focuses on questionable fishing practices. We are talking about "catch an release", ie catching and releasing, which involves fishing for the largest fish possible, in order to be photographed with the capital catch and then to reset the animals - with a low survival rate. "This method of inflicting pain, suffering and damage on fish out of a desire to compete and pure addiction to profiling is a clear violation of the Animal Welfare Act," says Schneider. He also sees worm fishing and spin fishing with triplets critically: This procedure results in severe losses in stocks of young fish, trout and grayling. According to Schneider, individual fish species on Prüm, Nims and Kyll are already threatened with extinction. This includes eel, grayling and nose.
In Schneider's opinion, agriculture is also responsible for the decline in fish stocks. If fields bordered directly on water, this would result in sludge being washed in and nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen getting into the water. Schneider therefore sees a solution in the designation of wide riparian strips to protect the waters from discharges.
Over-fertilization is one of the causes
The consumption warnings of SGD Nord show how urgently something has to be done for water protection. For fish from the Spangerbach, for example, which runs west of the Spangdahlem base and flows into the Kyll, it is important to eat a maximum of one trout per month. For the kyll fish below Hüttingen there is about the same consumption warning. The cause of these burdens, which also affect the Sauerland border and the Moselle, are in particular contaminated sites caused by military properties. Eating is completely discouraged.
Agnes Tillmann-Steinbuß, chairwoman of the BUND district group Bitburg-Prüm, also confirms a clearly noticeable decline in species in the Eifel, which not only affects fish. She blames chemical poisons, climate change, over-fertilization and the use of pesticides for this. She also sees dangers for people from drinking water: "Over-fertilization and soil erosion cause excessive nitrate pollution in the water - these are also dangers for drinking water."
The SGD Nord warns of blue-green algae that spread on the Bitburg reservoir and the Moselle. These green streaks are formed by cyanobacteria, which can form harmful substances. Water and bank areas with a clear green color should be avoided. The water of the Bitburg reservoir has been examined. Result: A significant breach of the alarm level that the Federal Environment Agency has set for the chlorophyll concentration.
Reinhold Kotz of the Bitburger Land association does not see a short-term solution, even if all nutrient and sediment supply is stopped immediately. An investigation should provide information on where the polluting substances come from.