The measure consists of the massive elimination “both of exotic species and some arrival from other parts of the territory”
The Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia has activated a ‘controlled fish density reduction plan’ to preserve the water quality of the Ter river basin following an unusually dry winter, reported on Monday the Catalan Water Agency (ACA).
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The focus is on the Sau reservoir, some 100 kilometers north of Barcelona, where water supply has fallen to its lowest level since 1990, collect ABC. The swamp is currently at 10% capacity.
“The drought is exceptional and we have to take advantage of the few resources available. Such a serious situation in Sau has never occurred before, it is an extreme scenario,” explained Elisabet Mas, head of the ACA’s performance area. cited by local media.
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The authorities point out that the reduction in Sau volumes may imply a decrease in oxygen in the water, which might trigger fish mortality if they are maintained at high densities.
Thus, they detail that the measure consists of the massive elimination of some 16 tons of fish, “both exotic species and some arriving from other parts of the territory”, to prevent them from dying within the reservoir itself and posing a health problem in the water. .
In the Sau reservoir there are 10 species of fish, nine of them exotic and one translocated, for which reason “their extraction and slaughter” is foreseen in accordance with the current regulations on this type of specimen, which obliges them to be sacrificed, as they are qualified as one of the main causes of biodiversity loss.
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