The sea trout is an anadromous fish, which means that just like the salmon they migrate upstream to reach their spawning grounds. They spend most of their life in brackish waters, but they reproduce in streams and rivers. The Wroclaw branch of the Polish Anglers' Association has been restocking the sea trout population in the area since 2000. The fry are released to a little stream called Strzegomka, which they later leave for the River Bystrzyca, where they feed for two years to finally take the River Oder and head for the Baltic.
"We are striving to restore the sea trout population. The River Bystrzyca was known to have a brown trout population in the inter-war period, and the sea trout are their relatives", explains Krzysztof Wawer, Deputy Head of the Wroclaw Branch of the Polish Anglers' and Presdent of Kingfisher Club Wroclaw.
Sea trout capital in Wroclaw
Sea trout feed for 4 or 5 years in the Baltic and then return to their spawning grounds in the Strzegomka. The trouble is that they come across a hydroelectric dam on the River Bystrzyca in Marszowice. The 2.6-metre tall barrage is a formidable challenge to the migrating trout (fish that are migrating upstream are unable to take it). Hence the idea to put up a monitoring station in the area, the first such station in the history of Wroclaw's Polish Anglers' Association. Wroclaw anglers are capturing the migrating trout to transfer them to the Strzegomka.
"We were tipped off by fishermen from Szczecin Lagoon that the trout began their migration. The fish can cover up to 60 km a day. So we can roughly calculate when they arrive in Wroclaw. The trout know where to swim because they remember the chemical composition of water", explains Krzysztof Wawer. He hastens to add that captured fish are counted in items and not in kilograms: "We have managed to capture 12 brooders, several males and several females that measure from 60 to 76 cm in length", says Krzysztof Wawer.
Sea trout monitoring station in Marszowice
Wroclaw anglers are doing a unique thing for the River Bystrzyca. The river is the southernmost tip of the trout's range in Poland.
"Wroclaw has a chance to become Poland's sea trout capital. But we have to be on the constant look-out for poachers. Unfortunately it is extremely easy to capture fish in Marszowice. That's why we were constantly on duty between 5 and 23 November. We would sleep in the tent", says Krzysztof Wawer, who has spent only two nights at home over the last two weeks: "The trout are extremely rate in Polish rivers, and I have a request to our colleagues to respect the huge effort these fish make to migrate to their spawning grounds and to apply the C&R policy".
The monitoring station in Marszowice was created as part of the civic initiative "Sea Trout Spawning Return Monitoring in the Bystrzyca River Basin". The project was carried out by salmonid and rheophile fish enthusiasts from Kingfisher Club at the Wroclaw Branch of the Polish Anglers' Association and Gaja Club as part of the "Adopt the River" project subsidised by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Kingfisher Club have been active in Wroclaw for a year. They have 25 members and 50 friends. The project has attracted Wroclaw ichthyologists from the Wroclaw University Nature Museum and the local branch of the Polish Anglers' Association.
"A fish ladder would certainly help the sea trout to take the barrage on the River Bystrzyca. The trouble is that no one knows when it's going to be built", adds Krzysztof Wawer.
Sea trout migrate to their spawning grounds two or three times throughout the ten years of their life. They reach considerable size. They can weigh up to 15-17 kg and measure 130 cm. Their meat is considered tastier than the salmon's.
Photograph: Rafał Knap
