Hungary's second fish "staircase" being built on the Ipoly

By: All Hungary News

Hungary's second fish "staircase' is being built on the Ipoly, a river on the Slovak border. According to environment portal Greenfo.hu, the stairs will create an ecological corridor connecting the lower and upper stretches of the river, allowing endangered species of fish to reach their traditional spawning grounds.

 

For millenia, species like the barbel (Barbus barbus), the burbot (Lota lota), the nase (Chondrostoma nasus) and different types of bream used to be able to swim to their natural spawning grounds, located at the upper stretch of the river, but this ecological corridor was destroyed in the 1960s during the regulation of the river, said László Papanek, the project manager of Central Danube Valley Environment Protection and Water Directorate ( Közép-Dunavölgyi Környezetvédelmi és Vízügyi Igazgatóság). As a result, the numbers of fish dwindled, and the river's food chain was damaged.

 

The new fish stairs are being built next to dams in the towns of Tésa and Ipolytölgyes, and will make it possible for fish to travel the two meters - the difference between the river bottom levels - up the Ipoly and down back to the Danube. This will enrich not only the fish population of the Ipoly, but the Danube as well. At the same time as the construction, the backwaters of the rivers are being cleaned, Papanek added.

 

In addition, a "live aquarium" is being planned for the Ipolytölgyes stairs, where visitors will be able to watch the underwater life of the river through a glass wall. A similar attraction is already offered at Hungary's only existing fish stairs in Denkpál, Northwestern Hungary. The new tourist site on the Ipoly is expected to give a boost to eco-tourism in the area, which is rich in natural treasures.

 

The stairs, which cost Ft 200 million (€790,800), are being financed by an EU grant, and built in co-opearation with Slovakia. Work is expected to be completed by the middle of 2007.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle