Fishing Frenzy

Fishing magazines abound with photos of monstrous catfish caught from the River Ebro in Spain, and the joy of catching one these enormous fish over 200 pounds must be immense pleasure while fishing in Spain.

With abundant large shoals of carp, and other widespread species, it?s not unusual for these catfish to grow at a phenomenal rate, the result being that to add ten to fifteen pounds a year is not uncommon.

The River Ebro is regarded by most specimen hunters to be the premier destination in Europe to catch catfish. The river makes the long 910km (565 miles) journey eastwards to Amposta before reaching the sea. The catfish in the Ebro have an almost perfect environment, an abundance of food, very few predators, and a long growing season due to relatively short Spanish winters.

Many surveys have been carried out over the years, to determine if the controlled introduction of the non-native catfish has had a detrimental effect on other fish species. It was discovered that the once abundant species of Iberian barbel had completely disappearance in the middle channel around 1990 due to the catfish. These findings are substantiated by the fact that barbel species from mountain stream tributaries of the River Ebro where catfish have not inhabited, have not been affected.

The original catfish introduction was for experimental and sport-fishing purposes, with under-controlled populations. It is believed that the resultant increase in the catfish population is due to improper and uncontrolled introductions by sport fishermen.

There is a law in place to combat the above problem. Spanish Law 42/2007 was introduced for the control or eradication of ?illegally introduced? non-native fishes, when documented surveys support that the introduced species has had an adverse effect on the native species. During the period 2000 till 2009, 238 documented surveys were carried out in the Ebro basin.

Public administrations have a duty to act in order to avoid the introduction and spread of non-native (sub-) species since they could compete with the native ones, and alter the ecological balance. Prevention measures should be taken by the administration to control the spread of non native fishes to other river basins and in addition to prevent new introductions.

Invasive species are accepted as a leading cause of animal extinctions. In the past animal rights activists (with misguided good intentions) raided mink farms, and released mink into the wild. With no known enemy the mink devastated wildlife and fisheries. It has taken years to cull the mink and reintroduce the lost species. In the same way, zander have devastated large stretches of British waterways. Ebro beware!