GOT International

GOT  WATCHES AS THE

EXPERTS GO ELECTRO-FISHING        

THE SCENE: a stretch of the Congost River where the waterway narrows considerably.

THE ACTION: Fishing with a difference.

Wearing full-body waterproof overalls and wielding electric-fishing equipment, these animal biologists are retrieving fish  with scoop nets that carry a sting. The nets come at the end of metal rods which carry electric charges designed to stun the fish for easy rounding up.But no harm is done to the fish. The generator-based apparatus take into account factors such as water conductivity,temperature and fish size to provide  just the right voltage to attract and stun fish without causing them damage - all very scientifically done. The biologists are taking a census of the fish population in the Congost which, like the Tenes River, is a major tributary of the River Besos that runs through Barcelona.

And here are some of the catch.  Above left: small fish which include a specimen of Catalonian chub (Squalius laietanus) and some individuals of Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Other fish species inhabiting this river are the common barbel (Luciobarbus graellsii), Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis), and Eurasian minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). Top right: a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and right: another common carp held by Antoni Arrizabalaga, a biologist himself and Director of the Granollers Museum of Natural Sciences.

All of which is testimony to the improving state of health of the river. Just over a decade ago, all that you would get from this river is a load of pure muck -- organic material from dumped chemicals, and industrial, agricultural and residential waste.

After the fishing comes the tallying:weighing, measuring and checking for parasitic disorders such as carp lice and bacterial and fungal infections. Picture on the right (above) shows team leader Dr. Dolors Vinyoles (seated in the middle), who ia overseeing the project, and PhD students Marc Escorbar and Núria Mejias, all from the  Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona’s Biology faculty.Other members of the team are Noëlle Fabre and Eduardo García-Galea. Top left: a little fish gets it weight taken. When the job was over, back into the river went the fish, all none the worse for wear.

The diversity of fish species discoved by the team augers well for the river ecosystem, and the presence of aquatic fowl and birds, and amphibians have been registered. Plant life is also flourishing, and at this stretch of the Congost, thick growth of bramble, nettle, rushes, ferns,  shrubs and small trees are among the wetland edge vegetation that dominate the sloping banks. And just a short distance up-river, the mallards are back...

Mallard; (Anas platyrhynchos); Ànec collverd; Ánade real, Stockente; Canard colvert