UTRECHT – The fish doorbell in Utrecht will be on again from today. Spring is coming and so the fish want to reproduce and move. But at the Weerdsluis they are literally standing in front of a closed door.
The municipality of Utrecht came up with the solution last year; people can use an underwater camera to see if a fish wants to go through the lock and then press a button to open the lock. That turned out to be a resounding success, people from all over the world watched.
Urban ecologist Mark hopes it won’t stop at the fish doorbell. He would like to improve the quality of the underwater world in the canals. “The fish want to find places to reproduce. But then they need a hiding place and more shelter.”
According to him, the Utrecht canals are still bare, a kind of container with water. “Fish can swim through it. But if there is a predator, for example, they can’t hide. There is also little food. We would like more plants in the canal, so that the fish stay in the canals permanently.”
‘Water quality must be better’
The analysis of the images from last year showed that there are especially many bass swimming in the canal. “But we also missed a few species, such as the bindweed and the bleak. We expected them more,” he says. According to him, the quality of the water also needs to be improved. “Too often waste from the street still ends up in the canal. We also look at what people can do themselves. Maybe there will be a fish hotel just like you have bee hotels!”
Mark hopes that the doorbell will give people a better idea of the underwater world: “It seems like a world that is so far away, but it is actually very close. And I hope that we can love it more and be better for it. going to take care of it.”
Do you have a tip or comment? Send us your news or photo via whatsapp or email.