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Migratory fish
The salmon is the most well-known migratory fish in the Rhine. It used to be the fish the fishermen along the Rhine earned their living on. According to literature, salmon in the Rhine watershed formerly spread to the areas illustrated in the map of "historical salmon waters". Salmon, as all migratory fish, move to other waters for spawning.
- Salmon cycle – please click to magnify
Salmon spend their main growth period in the sea, but return to the rivers for spawning. They follow their sense of smell and their memory of the smell of the home waters. Since this journey is extremely tiring, most salmon only do it once in their lifetime. Eel migrate in the opposite sense – they spend the longest time of their life in the river and spawn in the sea.
Target species of the ICPR programme on migratory fish
- Migratory fish species – please click to magnify
- Atlantic salmon (natural reproduction)
- Sea trout (increasing stock)
- Allice shad (individuals return, programme on reintroduction is ongoing)
- Thwaite shad (indviduals return)
- Houting (indviduals return)
- Nase (natural reproduction)
- Common sturgeon (vanished from the Rhine)
- Sea lamprey (natural reproduction)
- River lamprey (increasing stock)
- Eel (stock endangered in Europe)
- Jumping salmon at the weir on the Sieg (Photo: Stolzenburg)
- Historic salmon waters
- Masterplan migratory fish
Clicking on the graphics above will open a pdf file for the map of the historic salmon waters (5,25 MB) or for the "Master Plan Migratory Fish" (847 KB)
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