Giant celebrity threaten Bremen's water: is the risk of bathers real?

Erfahren Sie alles über den europäischen Wels: seine zunehmende Verbreitung, Auswirkungen auf Ökosysteme und seltene Angriffe.
Learn everything about European catfish: its increasing distribution, effects on ecosystems and rare attacks. (Symbolbild/ANAGAT)

Giant celebrity threaten Bremen's water: is the risk of bathers real?

In the waters of Germany, an exciting, but also worrying development ensures conversation: European Wels (Silurus Glanis), the largest freshwater robbery in Europe, is spreading. Current reports show that not only the fish stocks are affected, but also bathers that could be unexpectedly confronted with the "Killerwels". This clarifies Weser-Kurier

An incident is particularly alarming in which a catfish over two meters long and 90 kg of catfish bitten a bathroom in a Franconian lake. This shows that Welsch attacks-although they are rare-could also occur in waters like in Bremen. Due to the increasing WELS population, experts also distribute warnings and rates to caution when bathing.

The promotion trip of the Welses

The growing presence of the catfish in German waters is no accident. According to National Geographic , catfish have spread through human influences enormously in recent years. Climate change that favors warmer water promotes growth and reproduction of these predatory fish. So you could even catch a catfish in Italy with a fabulous 2.85 meters.

In Germany, catfish has spread beyond its original habitats. They are no longer just in the Danube, but also in rivers such as the Elbe, the Wümme and Lesum. This distribution leads to more frequent sightings and fishing reports - which appeals to people and at the same time triggers concern.

a predatory fish of superlatives

The catfish can not only have an impressive physique; He is also a skillful hunter. Equipped with extraordinary hearing and smells, he uses his beards for orientation. According to Claus Lumma, a speaker for water protection, the bite of a catfish is painful and can be compared with a line of a wire brush. The catfish are omnivating and also take birds such as pigeons and ducks as prey.

Although reports on attacks on people are extremely rare, there are also incidents in which small dogs have been attacked. In earlier days, the catfish not only enjoyed a fishing target, but was also valued as a delicacy. Richard Herings "Lexicon of the Kitchen" describes him under various terms such as Hastermann and Scharn.

The future of waters

The expansion of the catfish favored by climate change, however, raises questions about the ecological balance. In other European countries, such as France and Spain, the catfish is viewed as an invasive way that can endanger domestic fish species. So far, no serious ecological consequences are known, but fishermen who fight for their catches groaned under the growing pressure of these new predatory fish.

It remains to be seen how the situation will develop. Scientists and conservationists attentively observe how the ecosystem will react to the presence of the catfish. As Nordkurier could help to control invasive species such as camber cancer, but there are still many facets of this development in one exciting, but also critical light in the focus of the public.

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OrtWels, Deutschland
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