From August 10 to 15, 2025, we conducted fish monitoring in the inland delta of the Danube in Slovakia as part of the LIFE Living Rivers project. Over the course of several days, fish were caught, measured, weighed, recorded, and finally released back into the water in order to determine the current status and species composition of fish populations in this unique European river ecosystem.
Further fish monitoring will follow from September 29 to October 9, 2025. Fish communities are monitored twice a year, during the summer and autumn, when the Danube river system, which is strongly influenced by the Gabčíkovo hydroelectric power plant, receives varying amounts of water and the fish stock varies in species.
This year, we were delighted to find several very rare species of European importance – the Danube streber (Zingel streber), the Danube ruffe (Gymnocephalus baloni) and Danubian brook lamprey (Eudontomyzon vladykovi). The discovery of these rare species is a source of joy for all the organizations involved in the project, which are continuously striving to improve the living conditions for fish in the inland delta of the Danube.
