The Aqua Crisius Association has reintroduced 4,000 specimens of native (indigenous) trout and placed 10,000 embryos of the same species in 2 incubation systems, in the clear river waters of the Southern Făgăraș Mountains. Their plans are much more visionary: in the future, Aqua Crisius and its partner, CARPATHIA, wish to repopulate the waters with huchen (or Danube Salmon, Hucho hucho) and grayling (Thymallus thymallus) as part of a wider qualitative fish management system.
In the last 5 months they have undertaken a series of activities aimed at increasing the fish population in the mountain rivers.
“In November we introduced 4,000 specimens of 1-year old native trout (Salmo trutta), measuring approximately 10 cm / 10 gr / specimen, in areas managed together by the Aqua Crisius Association and the Carpathia Forestry Association, partner of the Foundation Conservation Carpathia,” said Andrei Togor, ecologist and project manager at Aqua Crisius. “The introduced specimens will be able to multiply in 1-2 years (the males earlier), enabling the current fish population to reach optimal numbers.”
“At the beginning of March, we returned and managed to place 10,000 embryos of trout in 2 incubation systems,” continued Andrei Togor. “The specimens obtained from wild parents were incubated in a trout fishery, with a survival rate after fertilization of above 90%. We chose this option because the losses in the natural environment are very high, due to the oscillations of the water: level, flow, temperature and flooding. Larvae hatch directly in the river where they will continue their life, and the fish are not accustomed to the presence of humans or artificial food – they practically have an increased adaptability.”
So far, the activities have had positive results, so future plans will also include other endangered species.
“Huchen (Danube salmon) existed for years in the Pecineagu dam, artificially introduced, but about a century ago they probably populated the sub-mountainous area of the Dâmboviţa and Doamnei rivers,” declared engineer Mihai Zotta, conservation director of the Foundation Conservation Carpathia. “We would like to bring them back to the lake, especially since they are a vulnerable species, threatened by extinction in Romania. They are only found on a few segments of rivers, and the breeding areas can be counted on the fingers of one hand.”
