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Rhine Salmon 2020

Internationale Kommission zum Schutz des Rheins

Commission Internationale pour la Protection du Rhin

Internationale Commissie ter Bescherming van de Rijn Auf Perlen schäumenden Weines Herzliebchen trag’ ich dich fort, Fort zu den Ufern des Rheines, Dort weiß ich den schönsten Ort.

Dort siehst eine Insel Du ragen Im hellen Mondenschein, Die Pfalz die tut sie tragen, Publisher: Dort wandern wir dann zu zwei’n. International Commission … for the Protection of the (ICPR) Es schwimmen herbei und lauschen Die Salme, die leckern Gesell’n,… Postfach 20 02 53 D-56002 „Herzliebchen in der Pfalz” (1824) Tel.: +49-(0)261-94252-0 Fax: +49-(0)261-94252-52 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.iksr.org

Editor: Dr. Anne Schulte-Wülwer-Leidig

Scientific advice: Dr. Jörg Schneider and ICPR fisheries experts

Author: Barbara Froehlich-Schmitt

Translation: K. Wehner

Title photo: LMZ,ASR, B. Stemmer, G. Feldhaus, U. Haufe, S. Staas

Design and production: AD DAS WERBETEAM GMBH www.ad-werbeteam.de

ISBN: 3-935324-51-0

Print run: 2.000

Copyright:

Photo: LMZ, H.P. Merten Photo: LMZ, H.P. ICPR- 2004 The island Pfalz near in the Rhine & Salmon 2020

A Programme for Migratory Fish in the Rhine System

Summary 4 Map of projects 5

Introduction 6 Vision of wild salmon in the Rhine 6 Target biological diversity 7 The history of salmon fishery 8 Salmon life cycle 9

1. Secure nursery grounds 10 The demanding children of the salmon 10 Inventory of juvenile fish habitats 11 Future salmon populations 12 Habitat measures 13

2. Open migration routes 14 Rhine delta 15 15 Middle Rhine 16 17 17

3. Release juvenile fish 18 Table of salmon stocking exercise 19 Rhine delta 20 Lower Rhine 20 Middle Rhine 20 Upper Rhine 20 High Rhine 21

4. Success control 22 Monitoring stations 22 Diversity of migratory fish 23 Downstream migration 25 Returning from the ocean 26 Natural reproduction 27

Assessment and Conclusion 28

Bibliography 30

3 Summary

"Salmon 2000" and its successful actions in favour of migratory fish is being continued in the 21st century. It is part of the new ICPR working programme "Rhine 2020”. So visions can become true:

1st vision: 3rd vision: Several thousands of Salmon stocking is salmon in the Rhine self-sustaining

The list of suitable salmon habi- During the past five years, some tats in the Rhine has 11 million juvenile salmon have become considerably longer. been released into the Rhine Therefore, the hope of the ICPR catchment. Partly, they are the to achieve a larger salmon popu- descendants of adult returning lation than what was calculated salmon. only five years ago, seems to be justified. Careful estimate: 7,000 to 21,000 salmon annually 4th vision: migrating upstream. Wild salmon in the Rhine in 2020

2nd vision: The return of salmon from the Undisrupted salmon ocean and, above all, their natu- migration as far ral reproduction prove the as success of this programme. Since 1990, evidence has been given Since 2001, three new fish of more than 2400 adult salmon passages have been opened in returning and migrating up- the Rhine delta. Numerous weirs stream the Rhine system. More have been changed or lowered than 300 of them used the new in the tributaries to the Lower, fish passage at , 700 km Middle, Upper and High Rhine. upstream the . On the Upper Rhine, the Iffezheim fish passage was put Rhine salmon are not yet inde- into service in 2000. In 2006, the pendant of human help and second huge fish passage will stocking exercises. But they open its gates at . already reproduce naturally in several tributaries to the Lower, Middle and Upper Rhine. This raises hopes that stable wild salmon populations may be achieved in the Rhine system by the year 2020.

4 Map of projects

IJssel

Saysbach

Sarre

Moselle

5 Introduction

This brochure is published five years after the International Rhine Symposium in and the brochure "Has the Rhine again become a Salmon carrying ”. In 1999, conclusions were: The Rhine Action Pro- gramme and "Salmon 2000” prove to be a great success and have reached the target to en-

able migratory fish such as the Photo: ASR salmon to return to a restored salmon (Salmo salar) Rhine (ICPR reports 102 +103, 1999). A vision of wild ments of the EU Water Frame- salmon in the Rhine work Directive (WFD) into con- AThe vision salmon hasof returned,wild but it is crete terms. Its objective is to still hiding. We want it to be We must now head for a new, achieve the good ecological sta- abundant, as a source of joy! demanding target, which is the tus of all or the maximum

Mrs Perrin-Gaillard / Deputee development of stable Rhine environmental potential in case from , Rhine Symposium 1999 salmon populations capable of of heavily modified water bodies. natural reproduction and mainte- Further pan-European regula- nance of stock without any tions, such as the Flora-Fauna- stocking exercise or other human Habitat (FFH) directive help pre- help. The ICPR work programme serve and develop natural Rhine 2020 puts the require- aquatic ecosystems.

EU water framework directive focuses on biological indicators defines the good ecological status fixes 2015 as deadline for achieving the good status in all European water bodies Photo: H. Stolzenburg Rhine Symposium in Rastatt, 1999 Targets Rhine 2020 Restore the habitat patch connectivity Ecological patency of the R. Rhine from to the as well as of the tributaries listed in the programme on migratory fish. The great enthousiasm for IKSR (2001) p. 12 Salmon 2000 in , , , Luxemburg and right up to the has made the programme to a success story Anne Schulte-Wülwer-Leidig (2000)

6 Photo: Wolfram Gonitz Photo: Wolfram

Old bed of the Rhine Target: biological diversity along the Rhine So the programme Rhine 2020 e.g. sea trout, allice shad and looks at the biological diversity of river lamprey but also great the Rhine system. Apart from the crested grebe and kingfisher, salmon, the target species within beaver and otter as well as water this programme are the many nut and water fringe, because all typical plants and animals which actions targeted at protecting formerly or today colonize the and renaturing the Rhine river Rhine Salmon 2020 river, its tributaries and alluvial ar- system enhance its natural Actions eas. Other migratory fish species biological diversity. 1. Restore habitats swim in the wake of the salmon, 2. Activate 3. Improve river structure 4. Remove obstacles to free Targets of the Flora-Fauna-Habitat (FFH) directive migration and develop a Implement the Rio de Janeiro Convention on biological subnatural network of diversity of 1992 habitats Protect European natural heritage Preserve endangered plant and animal species within a network of strictly protected areas = NATURA 2000 Directive 92/43/EEC

Species protected according to the FFH directive, e.g.: Atlantic salmon (and other migratory fish) river pearl mussel yellow-bellied toad beaver otter

Otter Photos: Manfred Delpho, www.delpho.de Photos: Manfred Kingfisher Great crested grebe

7 Reproduction: Baldner, 1666 Baldner, Reproduction:

Salmon taken from Geßner

The Salmon The history of salmon fishery... In Siberia, Russia and Scandinavia the salmon is of great importance for along the Rhine goes right back and the biggest salmon river in public nourishment; for us, it is rather to Roman times, some 2000 and salmon belonged to considered to be a delicacy (Rhine salmon) and is sold fresh, smoked and years ago. As late as the 18th staple food. But massive stocking soused. century, the R. Rhine was consid- exercises began as early as the Meyers Encyclopedia, vol. 10, ered to be the most important 19th century and an internation- Leipzig and Vienna (1895) al salmon treaty was passed, tar- Due to poor water quality in the geted at “increasing the stock of lower course of the Rhine, the In- salmon in the Rhine area” (Reichs- ternational Commission for the amt 1886). Since mill weirs ob- Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) structed the access to numerous was then founded. Following spawning areas, fishermen the fire of the Sandoz warehouse demanded the construction of near Basel and the resulting “salmon ladders”. great fish kills in 1986, the effica- cy of the ICPR and its Rhine Ac- The pollution of the Rhine with tion Programme as well as the domestic and industrial waste projects for migratory fish water started to be a problem in ”Salmon 2000” was enormous. the 19th century and culminated in the mid 20th century. Rhine salmon died out in the 1950s.

Landmarks Rhine salmon + ICPR

1986 The disastrous chemical accident in Basel caused fish and invertebrate kills as far downstream as the Lower Rhine 1987 The reply of the ICPR is the Rhine Action Programme or Salmon 2000 1990 The first salmon migrates from the sea into the Lower Rhine and further into the R. 1991 The ICPR drafts the Ecological Master Plan and a Programme for Migratory Fish 1994 First natural salmon reproduction in the R. Sieg system / Lower Rhine 1995 The first salmon reaches the Iffezheim barrage on the Upper Rhine 1997 First natural salmon reproduction in the Alsacian river system 1999/2000 First salmon redds in the R. and Saynbach / Middle Rhine 2000 Iffezheim fish passage and monitoring station put into service 2000 Opening of the control station Buisdorf on the R. Sieg 2000 EU Water framework directive (WFD) comes into effect 2000 Rhine 2020 – Programme on the sustainable development of the R. Rhine adopted by Rhine Ministers

8 Salmon life cycle Sea Growth period

Reproduction Smolt

Parr River

The life cycle of Atlantic salmon... starts in , when the larvae on their way upriver. They travel Eggs are fertilized by big salmon are hatched from the chorion until they reach the with hooked jaws keeping a jeal- dug deep into the gravel bed of of their "home” where ous eye on the procedure and, in limpid brooks in Europe and they leave the channel and some cases, by jacks. These are North America. As long as the continue upriver. Most natural only 10 to 20 cm long, preco- alevins feed on their yolk sack, obstacles, such as and cious males dashing out of their they avoid daylight and are large- smaller do not obstruct hiding places and spreading their ly immobile. Later they wriggle their migration. Thus they gain milt into the redd. In many cases, up from the gravel bed and the upper reaches of the river half of the hatching breed de- search for suitable habitats in the where they once hatched, a cool scends from a precocious father. shallow parts of the river. They and limpid brook with a gravel Most salmon die after spawning. feed on microscopic life in the bed. That is where they engage A salmon life cycle ends and after stream and grow to spottet parr. in courtship in the fall of the year. four months in the river gravel After 1 or 2 years they leave the While females dig several meter bed a new cycle starts the follow- river as 12-20 cm long silvery wide redds into the gravel bed, ing spring. smolts and gain the sea. In the males fight for the best places. Atlantic Ocean they travel to the feeding grounds around Green- Different stages in the lives of salmon and sea trout land, where they feed on crus- taceans and smaller fish and Alevin Feeding off yolk sack (after hatching, before being able grow rapidly. Multi sea winter to feed independently) salmon having spent several win- Fry The first weeks after feeding off yolk sack ters in the ocean may weigh Parr Juvenile fish, 1 to 3 years old with lateral parr marks more than 10 kilos and grow to a Jacks Precocious parr size of 80 to 100 cm. As they be- Smolt Juvenile fish between the age of 2 and 4 years, come mature, they return over mostly migrates downstream in the spring thousands of kilometres from the Grilse Small adult salmon returning to its natal river after 1 winter at sea, which is often the case with salmon and, above all, sea trout Atlantic Ocean back to the estu- MSW "Multi-Sea-Winter", big returning adult salmon with more than ary of their natal river and mi- 1 (often 2-3) winter(s) ocean residence grate upstream. Kelt Fish that has spawned, dies in most cases It is believed that it is above all (HUMBORG 1990, LE CREN 1985, PEDROLI 1991) the smell which guides salmon

9 Rhine 2020 Ecosystem improve- ment Secure nursery grounds by protecting and revitalizing in- tact salmon spawning grounds, 11 juvenile habitats and suitable fish habitats in the main stream in tributaries included in the programme on migratory fish IKSR (2001) p. 13 Juvenile salmon require a great habitat diversity. During the sum- mer they live in the shallow gravely parts of the river offering much shelter, e.g. stones off the river banks. In autumn, young salmon colonize deeper areas

with less current. This is when Photo: ASR Strasbourg precocious males head down- Salmon redd

Photo: Gerhard Feldhaus Photo: Gerhard stream, awaiting the females re- Salmon alevin feeding from yolk sack turning from the ocean!

Children of salmon are demanding Photo: U. Haufe Young salmon in the Steinchesbach/Bröl Salmon only successfully repro- duce in rivers with clean, cool water rich in oxygen. They prefer the so called hyporhitral, the low- er salmonid region of mountain rivers also called the grayling zone after its key indicator species, and the metarhitral, the lower trout region. Natural, unal- tered rivers and brooks with high flow velocity are most suitable, since they are de-silted by natural Foto: Frank Molls flow dynamics and create Typical juvenile salmon habitat new gravel beds, scours and shelters. Foto: Bernd Stemmer The grayling is the key indicator species of juvenile salmon habitats

10 Inventory of juvenile habitats

Formerly, salmon migrated up the main channel until they reached the falls of the Rhine near . They used to spawn in the southern Upper Rhine as well as in the High Rhine. Since the Upper Rhine has been dammed, the Franco-Ger- man old bed of the Rhine is the Foto: BFS Schneider only river section with consider- Salmon habitat in the R. able spawning habitats. Even though there are barrages in the From the High Rhine the salmon ing salmon and sea trout. Today, High Rhine, there are still two un- migrated into the right bank several additional river sections obstructed sections suitable for tributary , into the left bank are considered to be suitable. fish spawning in gravel beds. tributaries and and The sections concerned are parts via the R. into many pre- of the tributaries to the Lower Most of the historically proven alpine tributaries, 1.200 km Rhine with its tributaries salmon spawning habitats were upstream the Rhine estuary. Dhünn, with and located in the Rhine tributaries Upper Rhine tributaries from the and their tributaries from the up- Mapping of juvenile habitats , such as and trib- lands to the pre-alpine regions. During the last 15 years, inten- utaries to the rivers , , The Lower Rhine tributaries Ruhr, sive investigations were made in- and figuring in the Wupper and Sieg from the Ber- to which rivers are apt for carry- programme. gisches Land, the and were already consid- Section of Tributaries Surface in ha ered to be salmon habitats. the Rhine Spawning area Juvenile habitat There were many old salmon rivers in the Middle Rhine region. Lower Rhine Ruhr + Volme etc. * 3,5 On the right banks of the Rhine, Wupper + Dhünn * 42,4 Sieg + 20,1 150,0 the R. Saynbach, and Wis- per drain the and Middle Rhine Ahr 18,0 90,0 . On the left bank the R. Saynbach + 2,3 7,0 : + 5,5 71,0 Ahr, , Moselle and Moselle: left bank tributaries draining from , Hunsrück Prüm, + X 12,7 14,8 and flow into the Rhine. Lahn: Mühlbach, , , 1,5+* 3,0+* The R. Main and its former Lahn: Laasphebach 0,3 4,0 0,3 1,1 salmon tributaries from Oden- wald and are right bank Upper Rhine Main + Hessian Kinzig, Kinzig 2,0+* Kinzig 8,4+* tributaries to the Upper Rhine. 0,4 4,0 Ill: , Lièpvrette, Fecht, Formerly, the R. used to , 2,5 70,0 be a salmon river, just as the Old bed of the Rhine 3,5 64,0 Black Forest rivers Alb, Murg, Alb, Murg, Rench, Kinzig in 2,5 180,0 Elz + * * Rench, Kinzig and Elz. On the left banks of the Rhine the salmon High Rhine Wiese 0,3 1,2 migrated from the Upper Rhine Birs 1,0 10,7 into the tributaries Lauter, Ill and Ergolz 0,2 1,2 its tributaries from the Vosges, TOTAL 73,1 726,3 among them the R. Bruche. * unknown at present

1111 Photo: Hajo Old bed of the Rhine Future salmon populations

Unfortunately, many of the repro- 1 million of which survive to the grounds. It is estimated that be- duction habitats capable of carry- stage of a smolt migrating down- tween 70 and 210 adult salmon ing salmon are isolated in the riv- stream. 700.000 smolts may rear may return. In the tributaries to er network. In the tributaries, hy- on 700 ha juvenile habitat.Once the lower R. Lahn there are 1.5 draulic engineering facilities of- a new stock of Rhine salmon will ha spawning grounds and 3 ha ten interrupt subnatural river have developed, it may be ex- juvenile habitats. This means that sections and a chain of barrages pected that 1-2% of salmon re- 30 to 90 salmon are expected to cuts off their connection with the turn from the sea (ICPR 1994). return. main channel. This particularly Then the salmon population applies to the R. Moselle, Main, In the R. Sauer and Our in Lux- achievable on the medium the Upper Rhine upstream of If- term will amount to 7.000 to emburg between 700 and 2,100 fezheim and the High Rhine. 21.000 adult salmon. salmon are expected to return to The inventory of suitable spawn- This only represents a fraction of the 6 ha of spawning grounds ing grounds and juvenile habi- the former population, but is and about 70 ha of juvenile habi- tats serves as basis for a rough es- more than the estimate of 1999. tats. timate of the carrying capacity Even though habitat improve- In the Alsacian tributaries to the for future salmon populations. ment measures may on the long R. Ill some 50 ha of juvenile fish A female salmon deposits at max- run increase this number, the habitats have been mapped. This imum 10.000 eggs on 100 m2 of ICPR is perfectly aware of the fact means that between 500 and gravel bed. About 1 %, that is that, due to hydraulic measures 1,500 returning salmon may be 100 salmon per 1.000 m2 juve- and water uses in the Rhine sys- expected. nile habitat survive to migrate tem, the former size of salmon downstream. If later on only 4 of stocks can never be restored. If migratory routes were not dis- them return from the ocean to rupted, 600 to 1,800 adult spawn, the stock of salmon sur- In the different tributary systems, salmon might return to the old vives. Probably hardly half of the the surface of juvenile habi- bed of the Rhine with its 64 ha adults returning from the ocean tats is the limiting factor as juvenile fish habitat. reproduce successfully. long as it is not about 10 times the surface of the spawning 1 hectare of juvenile habitat may annually produce a pop- grounds. In the Northrhine-West- ulation of 10 to 30 adult re- phalian R. Sieg system there are turning salmon. 20 ha of spawning grounds as According to the present state of opposed to some 100 ha juve- knowledge, the Rhine system to- nile fish habitats. Therefore, the day hosts 100 ha spawning potential adult salmon popula- grounds and 700 ha juvenile tion does not amount to 2- habitats. On 100 ha spawning 6,000, but only to 1-3,000. grounds in the Rhine system In the R. Saynbach watershed some 10.000 female salmon may there are only 7 ha of juvenile

deposit 100 million eggs, about habitat for 2.3 ha spawning Photo: Hajo Wetzlar Old bed of the Rhine

12 Salmon habitat Dead wood, such as branch- measures es, bushes and trees may be placed in a brook on purpose The high ecological demands of to considerably increase struc- salmon on their spawning and tural diversity. Often gravel nursery grounds require particu- banks which salmon prefer for lar measures for renaturing for- spawning form in the shadow mer salmon carrying rivers. of the current. Damming and river training have often reduced flow velocity, silted up gravel banks and, in many cases rivers banks are artificial.

Within the ICPR Salmon 2000 programme, many former juve- nile salmon habitats have been prepared: gravel banks have Photo: Max Lauff been loosened and cleaned, river Renatured R. Sauer in Luxemburg bank stabilizations have been re- moved.

In the R. Sauer in Luxemburg, a tributary to the R. Moselle, former floodplains and a side channel to the Sauer were renatured as a part of ecological protec- tion measures. Enlarging the riv- er profile has restored the river dynamics of the Sauer and helped develop natural river bed and bank structures.

If channel bed sills and weirs no longer having any function are Photo: O. Niepagenkemper lowered, this will improve river Loosening gravel banks in the R. Sieg patency and dynamics. Addition- ally, there are different possibili- ties of renaturing rivers or en- hancing their dynamics, even without any excavation:

River maintenance should be reduced to a minimum and river bank stabilizations should not be maintained but re- moved wherever possible.

River bank stripes should re- main out of use in order to re- duce the input of fertilizer and

pesticides. Photo: Bernd Stemmer Dead wood in the river

13 Open migration routes Weirs of hydroelectric power 2 plants obstruct upstream fish mi- 2 gration, turbines are problematic for downstream travelling, even though fish passages exist. Of- ten, fish ladders were miscon- structed and too little attraction water made it difficult for fish to find the entrance to the ladder With a view to increasing the stock of salmon in our rivers obstructed by several weirs, barrages, mills (...) so that salmon formerly migrating upstream no longer have any (PEDROLI 1991). Fish protection facil- access, the construction of salmon ladders (salmon ladders, fish ways, fish passages) is ities for downstream migration urgently required. Such facilities will permit salmon to reach the overshot water of weirs bypassing by turbines are urgent- which are too high to be lept over in order to reach the spawning grounds in the upper ly required. regions of the rivers. The re-establishment of linear Meyers Encyclopedia, vol. 6, Leipzig and Vienna (1894) river patency, that is of up- and downstream fauna migration in the Rhine and its side channels has made variable progress and Rhine 2020 is often still in the planning Restoration of ecological patency with the help of bypass rivers or auxiliary migration facilities (fish passages or the like). phase. However, many examples of the main stream, e.g. at barrages prove that it is worth while the of the tributaries figuring in the programme on migratory fish, if effort. More and more salmon necessary by removing weirs which are no longer used spawn upstream places where IKSR (2001) p. 13 obstacles have been removed.

More than a hundred years ago, obstacle for fish migration - lead- The ICPR demands to develop many mill weirs already disrupted ing to a mortal infarctus. subnatural solutions when re- fish migration routes. But from Today, one of the prerequisites moving obstacles in the river. Pre- time to time the mills did not for reintroducing migratory fish is cise proposals have been made work, weirs were neither too to open migration routes. Many to remove all weirs without wa- high nor too sophisticated so reproduction habitats still exist ter rights and to build subnatural that some fish managed to slip but are not accessible. Some of fish passages, such as block through or to jump over. The first the "Salmon 2000" projects are ramps, bypassing the remaining fish passages were built. Never- designed to put things right. In a weirs. Technical solutions such as theless, less and less migratory first step, and parallel to the pro- Denil or vertical slot passages fish reached the spawning ceedings for habitats, obstacles have also proved to be efficient grounds in the Rhine tributaries. to migration have been inven- in places, where there is little This was one of the main reasons toried and mapped. Within the room. Some fish passages should for why Rhine salmon died out. inventory demanded by the Wa- be equipped with fish viewing River training in the 19th and ter Framework Directive, new windows and monitoring sta- 20th century targeted at facilitat- weir registers are drawn up and tions. ing navigation, at protecting will be presented in the begin- from flooding and at producing ning of 2005. hydroelectric power. The side ef- fects of these measures on nature were underestimated. Many fish are heavily injured on their way downstream through rotating turbines of hydroelectric power plants. But, above all, river train- Photo: BFS, J. Schneider ing proves to be a considerable Salmon smolts after passing through turbines

14 Rhine delta

In the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into the three branches IJs- sel, / and . Additionally, near the estuary, the Driel Amerongen is connected to the Waal. At the time being, fish can travel Photo: Fish passage Driel, Tom Buijse upstream from the ocean through Fish passage Amerongen, Cees Witvliet Fish passage Hagestein, RIZA Lelystad the , pass by IJssel the port of , through sea the R. Waal and into the Rhine without coming across any ob- Hagestein stacle. But the other gates to the Rhine, the sluices at the closure embankments of and IJsselsea are accessible to a lim- Amerongen IJssel Hagestein Driel ited extent only. It is planned Haringvliet Nieuwe that, from 2008 on, the Haring- estuary Waterweg LEK sluices will be partly opened. The extent of opening depends WAAL on the of the Rhine MAAS and will be monitored until Lith Woudrichem 2012. After this period, a deci- sion will be taken with respect to GERMANY the question whether the sluices are to be opened more widely, thus also admitting tidal influ- ence (see: www.haringvlietsluizen.nl). Three new fish passages have been built bypassing the bar- 2001 the first of them, built at rages in the Lek. By the end of the Driel barrage, was put into Measures: service. Construction of the fish Hydroelectric power plant passages Amerongen and in bypass river Hagestein was accomplished mid 2004, their functionality will be Fish passage Mechanical device protecting e. g. rough ramp fish from entering the tested in 2005/6. turbine, e. g. fine screen (5-10 mm) or rotary screen Bypass for downriver Lower Rhine migrating fish • at the surface for Further weirs have been altered or salmonid smolts lowered in the tributary systems of • at the bottom for eel Hydroelectric the Ruhr, Wupper and Sieg. power plant Pilot facilities protecting down- stream fish migration are planned for the turbines. They

Fish passage are important not only for Sufficient minimal flow e. g. bypass river salmon and sea trout smolts, but for all river fish species. Further details are given in the North- rhine-Westphalian programme on migratory fish (MUNLV 2003).

Grafik: Kernteam WFP NRW, Dr. Frank Moll 15 Along the salmon to surmount the Lahn- Upper Rhine Middle Rhine stein obstacle”. Upstream the junction with the In 2002, a weir in the R. Ahr in On the Upper Lahn in R. Kinzig, there are five barrages - was trans- most obstacles are side weirs in the lower R. Main without any formed subnaturally and, at the which fish with a good swim- suitable fish passages. These will same time, the river bottom was ming capacity manage to cross be altered or reconstructed by cleared from concrete. Two more and 16 of the 56 weirs are 2006. In the Hessian R. Kinzig it- weirs have been changed and equipped with fishways. In the self many weirs have been re- modifications are planned for an- R. Dill, a tributary to the Lahn, moved or equipped with fish- other six. 12 of the 37 transversal struc- ways. At present, there are only two obstacles left in the lower Kinzig but several weirs subsist in the Kinzig tributaries. In particu- lar, hydroelectric power utiliza- tion poses major problems (VSDF 2003, p. 63).

While there are no obstacles from the Rhine estuary through the R. Waal until the Iffezheim barrage some 700 km upstream, 10 bar- rages obstruct the 164 km of the

Photo: Georges Muller Photo: Georges Franco-German Upper Rhine be- Blasting a weir in the loop of the R. Sauer in Luxemburg with aids from Rhineland-Palatinate tween Iffezheim and Basel. France, Germany and the opera- Along the R. Nahe downstream tures have been equipped with tors of the hydroelectric power the mouth of the R. there fish passages, so that patency is plant have jointly financed the are six weirs without any func- granted along the 30 river km be- construction of a fish passage by- tional fish passages. In the R. tween the estuary and Herborn. passing the lower most barrage Glan, a tributary to the Nahe, the Until 2004, all of the 10 weirs on at Iffezheim which is operational modification of weirs has begun. the R. Weil, a tributary to the since June 2000. Subsidised by Lahn, were changed (RP ). the EU Life programme, the ICPR In the Saynbach-Brexbach river participated in financing the con- system, where exemplary modifi- Since 2002 the lower Wisper is struction costs amounting to an cations were carried out on six patent for migratory fish. overall 8 million Euros. Now weirs between 1996 and 1999, salmon and other migratory fish all weirs are supposed to be sur- Apart from the first one, the fish do not encounter any obstacles mountable for fish by 2005 (Aktion ladders at the 10 weirs on the on their way from the North Sea Blau in RP, see VDSF 2003 p. 48). lower R. Moselle are difficult to to the R. Ill in and the R. cross for fish (ICPR 1999, report 103, p. Rench in Bade-Württemberg. On the lower R. Lahn in Rhine- 21). At the time being, Rhineland- French and German Industrial land Palatinate 8 of 11 weirs dis- Palatinate is working on a study Fisheries Boards and administra- rupt fish migration, among them aimed at their alteration. In the tions jointly monitor fish migra- the lowermost weir in , R. Sauer, a tributary to the tion at the Iffezheim monitoring the salmon "gate to the R. Lahn” Moselle, 4 weirs have been re- station (see success control p. 24). belonging to the German navi- moved at Rosport-Ralingen in gation administration. In 2002, Luxemburg and one fish passage Gambsheim, the next upstream headlines of the Rheinzeitung has been modified. 3 weirs on barrage, will also be equipped read:"When the journey ends at the R. Our, a tributary to the R. with a jointly financed fish pas- the weir ..." and "No way for Sauer, were altered. sage. Construction work of the

16 Release rivers in the German and French Upper Rhine area Release period: 1993 - 2001

Patency of transversal structures for samonids patent restricted patency strongly restricted patency hardly or not patent High Rhine salmon river In the Swiss High Rhine, many barrages obstruct the way to- wards the last two freely flowing stretches of the Rhine which would be suitable for spawning.

In the High Rhine tributaries Wiese, Birs and Ergolz, eight ob- stacles have been altered since the mapping of obstacles in 1996 by building bypass chan- nels, ramps, etc. for fish migra- tion.

In the French R. Ill and its tribu- tary Bruche, several basin pas- sages have already been built, others are still due. In December 2000, a basin passage was put Map: LFV BW into operation at the hydroelec- tric power plant on the R. baffled pass similar to that at If- Ill, some 30 km south of Stras- fezheim began in spring 2004 bourg, opening the Ill tributaries and the fish passage is scheduled Fecht, Thur and Doller for to be operational in the begin- salmonids. ning of 2006. Additionally, this fish passage will include a large In the Baden-Württemberg tribu- fish viewing room open to the taries Alb, Murg, Rench, Kinzig public. and Elz many weirs have been But there are more barrages in modified or equipped with fish the Upper Rhine between Gambs- passages. But the turbines of heim and Basel which, so far, dis- many small hydroelectric power rupt fish migration. The ICPR has plants cause considerable prob- commissioned a feasibility study lems for downstream fish migra- tion. Additionally, too little water

on the restoration of the Upper AG Energiedienst

Rhine river patency, the results of is flowing through many of the Model of the fish passage at the which will be presented in 2006. bypass rivers. hydroelectric power plant

17 33 Release juvenile fish

The main ICPR target set out in the same still be hatched and re- the “Ecological Master Plan for leased for some time to come. the Rhine” was to reintroduce mi- Still, eggs are today partly collect- gratory fish such as salmon and ed from adult salmon returning sea trout (ICPR 1991). As for the sea from the ocean! The ICPR hopes trout, replenishing of the stock that, as time passes by, a stock of still existing in the Rhine system Rhine salmon adapted to local was to be based on natural re- conditions will develop and natu- production and on the catch of rally reproduce in the Rhine sys- mature adults. Since the salmon tem without any artificial sup- Photo: Adam Schmitt Information board for fishermen along the died out in Rhine system in the porting measures. This is one of Allier helping them to recognize salmon fifties of the 20th century, a new the targets set out in “Rhine stock of Rhine salmon had to be 2020”. created. ly reduced. It is admitted that di- Therefore, eggs were collected Today, salmon migrating several verse stocks of wild salmon and a from other wild salmon stocks hundreds of kilometres upstream broad genetic variety could offer and raised in fish hatcheries be- (almost 1000 km) are only found more room for a natural selection fore the juvenile fish were re- in the French Loire/Allier-system. and the adaptation of new leased into suitable habitats. But, for the last 30 years, even salmon populations to present Having thus again started off the the Loire salmon has been artifi- habitats. After all, the former salmon life cycle and achieved cially supported (PEDROLI 1991). stock of Rhine salmon did not the aim set out in “Salmon 2000”, consist of one homogenous, but that is downstream migration, re- In future, the number of stocks probably of several different pop- turn of adult salmon from the of origin from which salmon ulations living in the different trib- ocean and even natural repro- eggs destined for the Rhine sys- utaries. However, certain scien- duction, juvenile salmon must all tem are imported will be marked- tists fear that, if different stocks are cross-bred, in particular artifi- cial reproduction may lead to a Stocking in the Rhine Origin of salmon eggs loss of genetic fitness (Schneider and region (1999-2003) importation Returning adults others 2004).

Germany / NRW Ireland, Sweden Yes! All stocking exercises implying mi- D / Rhineland-Palatinate France, Sweden, gratory fish are documented in a Denmark, Ireland, , central data base in NRW (LÖBF) Scotland Yes! which the ICPR may use since D / Hesse France, Denmark, Sweden 2002. The table below gives an Yes! overview over the stocking exer- D / Ireland, France cises of the past five years (Stocking D / Bade-Württemberg Ireland, Sweden Yes! exercises 1994-98, see ICPR 1999, report Luxemburg France Yes! (Moselle estuary) no. 103, p. 32). France France, Sweden Yes! Switzerland France

18 Photo: ASR Strasbourg Photo: Armin Nemitz Children help releasing small salmon Releasing salmon alevins

Stocking juvenile salmon in the Rhine river system 1999-2003 Country River system Stocking exercise Germany/ Ruhr ca. 5.4 million Northrhine- Wupper Sieg Lahn

D / Rhineland-Palatinate Sieg ca. 2.3 million

Photo: ASR Strasbourg Ahr Saynbach / Kyll, Prüm In most cases, salmon were re- Lahn / Mühlbach leased as alevins or parr. So, D / Hesse Lahn / Dill, Weil ca. 1 million during the past 5 years, Wisper some 11 million salmon Main / Kinzig have been released into the Rhine catchment. D / Bavaria Main ca. 0.2 million

D / Bade-Württemberg Alb ca. 0.3 million According to fisheries experts, Murg this considerable stocking exer- Rench cise was necessary in order to Kinzig / , make up for the high natural , mortality of young salmon (see salmon population estimates p. 12). Luxemburg Sauer / Our ca. 0.2 million

France Old bed of the Rhine ca. 1.6 million Ill

Switzerland Rhine ca. 0.3 million

D, L, F, CH entire Rhine ca. 11.3 million

19 Rhine delta tween stocked salmon and wild descendants. As soon as the In the Dutch Rhine delta, there count of downstream migrating are no suitable salmon or sea smolts shows that natural repro- trout spawning grounds and duction leads to a sufficient num- thus no stocking exercises. How- ber of descendants, stocking ex-

ever, big mature salmonids re- ercises can be stopped. Foto: Armin Nemitz turning from the North Sea are Releasing salmon in the upper R. Sieg monitored (see p. 27). Middle Rhine ing exercises have been consider- Lower Rhine From 2000 on, salmon of two ably reduced. different origins were used for Annually, about one million juve- stocking exercises in Rhineland- In Hesse, salmon are released in- nile salmon are released into the Palatinate. Eggs collected from to the R. Dill and Weil, both trib- Rhine tributaries from the low salmon of the French Loire-Allier utaries to the R. Lahn and into mountain ranges in Northrhine- stock were hatched and raised to the R. Wisper, flowing into the Westphalia. Most of them are parr in a fish hatchery before Rhine in the . In future, alevins hatched from eggs or few they were released into the Lahn only Swedish Ätran salmon will weeks old fry. Apart from that, ju- affluent Mühlbach and into the be used for stocking exercises in venile parr, yearlings and smolts R. Ahr. Young parr from the these rivers. are released. It is expected that, Swedish rivers Lagan and Ätran Since 2001, salmon are released from 2004 on, the first marked were released into the R. - into the upper R. Lahn near Laas- adult salmon of the Swedish bach. Here too, eggs are collect- phe in Northrhine-Westphalia. Ätran stock used since 2003 will ed from salmon returning from return. That means that, in fu- the ocean and precocious males, In Luxemburg, salmon are re- ture, the importation of salmon presumably descendants of natu- leased into the R. Sauer, a tribu- eggs can be reduced in favour of ral reproduction, are used as tary to the Moselle and its tribu- the “home production”. Some sperm donators. Since 2001, and tary, the Our. The first descen- salmon manage to pass by moni- without any previous stocking dants of returning salmon were toring and catching stations and exercises, the R. Nette flowing in- released in 2002. Their parent celebrate veritable marriages in to the Rhine between the tribu- fish had been caught and eggs nature. Others are let pass on taries Moselle and Ahr is colo- had been collected at the first purpose in order to enhance nat- nized by “straying” salmon (see p. fish passage on the Moselle in ural reproduction. It has been de- 26, 27). Since 1996 salmon are al- Koblenz (D) for hatching in a fish cided that “with a view to deter- so released into the Eifel R. Prüm farm in Nassau. mining the success of natural re- and Kyll flowing into the Moselle. production” (MUNLV 2003, p. 21) In future, Rhineland-Palatinate only young marked salmon will and Luxemburg will mainly use Upper Rhine be released into certain brooks. eggs of salmon from the Swedish This allows to distinguish be- R. Ätran for stocking exercises. Since 2001, salmon are reintro- duced into the Hessian Kinzig, a The number of sea trout has in- tributary to the R. Main as well as creased in the of Rhine into the Kinzig tributaries. In tributaries in Rhineland-Palati- 1994, and since 1998, young nate, and even before the year salmon alevins are released into 2000 their eggs were collected the Francian R. Main and its trib- for artificial reproduction and utary, the R. Rodach in Bavaria. hatching. Due to a natural in- crease in numbers and probable In Baden-Württemberg salmon natural reproduction (e.g. R. are released into the Rhine tribu- Saynbach, Nette) sea trout stock- taries from the Black Forest. Annu- Photo: Bernd Stemmer Collecting eggs from returning salmon

20 ally, up to 90.000 young salmon of Irish origin were released into these rivers. An even more inten- sive co-operation in salmon hatch- ing is planned with France and salmon of homogenous origins are strived for in co-operation with Switzerland. Thus, in future, all re- turning salmon may be identified by their origins in the Iffezheim monitoring station and their eggs may be collected without taking any genetic risk. (LV BW 2002, SCHNEI- DER u.a. 2004). Photo: Bernd Stemmer Salmon rearing in the Hasper High Rhine

Since 1999, young salmon from the Adour-Nive river system in the southwest of France are re- leased into the Swiss High Rhine. They are no longer put into the tributaries St. Albanteich, Birs and Wiese, as was the case in the past years, but released near the confluence of these rivers with the High Rhine. Photo: ASR Strasbourg Stocking salmon in the R. Fecht, a tributary to the Ill

In France, Rhine salmon are stocked in the Old bed of the Rhine and the R. Ill. The fry are mostly of Allier origin, partly they come from Brittany or they are descendants of adults returning to the Rhine and which, since 2000, were caught in the Rhine at Iffezheim or in the R. Bruche downstream the bar- rage. Artificial fertilization pro- duced more than 100,000 eyed eggs. In future, stocking exercises will be based on adults from the Allier reproducing in fish farms and on adults returning from the ocean.

21 44 Success control

Monitoring the fish population monitoring stations for by drawing up an inventory of migratory fish. The ICPR recom- spawning grounds, fishery bio- mends to install such monitoring logical inventories based on elec- stations near the estuary of each tro-fishing and fyke nets, marking larger tributary. tests and monitoring stations fig- ure among the success control measures within Salmon 2020. So far, there are six permanent Photo: StVA Köln- Photo: StVA Buisdorf monitoring station

From the very beginning on, the salmon programme was accom- panied by success control and re- search. This helped to establish and improve the effectiveness of stocking and protection meas- ures. In this connection, as well as in case of stocking measures, voluntary fisheries associations and nature protection associa-

tions had a large part in the suc- Photo: ASR Strasbourg Iffezheim monitoring station cess.

Future permanent monitoring stations In its “Ecological Master Plan” the (six already exist) ICPR demanded success control, such as fishery biological invento- Rhine section Country River branch, Weir ries and monitoring of new fish tributary passages in order to prove the Rhine delta NL IJssel Westervoort Rhine ecosystem improvement Lek Hagestein (ICPR 1991). Waal Woudrichem

Fish viewing window in the Lower Rhine D / NRW Dhünn Auermühle Iffezheim monitoring station Sieg Buisdorf Agger Troisdorf

Middle Rhine D / RP Moselle Koblenz barrage L Lahn Lahnstein barrage Sauer Rosport-Ralingen

Upper Rhine F / D main stream Iffezheim F / D main stream Gambsheim F Ill Straßburg FBruche Avolsheim

High Rhine CH – – Photo: ASR Strasbourg

22 D i v e r s i t y o f m i g r a t o r y f i s h

Which species return to the Rhine?

Atlantic salmon Houting (Salmo salar) * (Coregonus oxyrhynchus)*

Sea trout Common sturgeon (Salmo trutta) (Acipenser sturio) † *

Allice shad Sea lamprey (Alosa alosa) * (Petromyzon marinus) *

Thwaite shad River lamprey (Alosa fallax) * (Lampetra fluviatilis) * Photos: ASR Strasbourg, aus Vogel&Hofer, Stefan Staas, Bernd Stemmer aus Vogel&Hofer, Photos: ASR Strasbourg,

† Extinct in the Rhine individuals returning natural reproduction increasing stocks * = FFH-species according to directive 92/43/EEC (see p. 6 this brochure)

Eel (Anguilla anguilla): another migratory fish which however spawns in the sea and migrates upstream rivers at the stage of a juvenile fish. Photo: Peter Rey

Since 1992, migratory fish are and salmon were equipped with Many migratory fish, among monitored in the Dutch Rhine radio transmitters. On their way them a growing number of rare delta. At selected locations, test upstream, 34 of the 580 sea species such as thwaite shad catches are carried out with nets trout passed by the estuary dam, and houting have been caught and the by-catches of profession- 103 by the Nieuwe Waterweg in the Rhine delta and in the al fishermen are evaluated. Be- and 70 by the sluices on the Har- IJsselsea (WINTER et al. 2003). tween 1994 and 2003 727 adult ingvliet (BIJ DE VAATE et al. 2003). So salmon and 1327 sea trout were far, 12 of these sea trout and one Along the Northrhine-West- observed (HARTGERS & BUIJSE, WINTER salmon have been registered phalian Lower Rhine research in- and others 2003). heading upstream the R. Sieg to- to which migratory fish are re- Between 1996 and 2000 the wards the spawning grounds. turning is carried through in the routes taken by migratory fish re- It has been proved that salmon tributary . A permanent mi- turning from the North Sea and and sea trout smolts marked in gratory fish monitoring station travelling through the Rhine Northrhine-Westphalia and has been built at the lowermost delta were subjected to telemet- Baden-Württemberg have weir across the R. Sieg near Buis- ric research. To this end, sea trout reached the North Sea. dorf entailing costs of some

23 650,000 Euro. It was taken into 1 operation in the beginning of Counts at the Iffezheim barrage between 2000 and 2003 2000 and consists of a basket trap, two rooms for keeping Long distance migratory fish living fish as well as installations Eel (Anguilla anguilla)2 1.257 to measure fish and collect their Thwaite shad (Alosa fallax)3 1 eggs. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) 318 The station has proved to be per- Allice shad (Alosa alosa) 11 formant. Apart from migratory Sea trout (Salmo trutta trutta) 988 fish – 564 salmon, 205 sea trout Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) 342 and downstream migrating river Other fish species lamprey – many other fish species Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) 5 were registered until the end of Brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) 109 2003, among them barbel, nase, Brook trout (Salvellinus fontinalis) 5 chub and pike. The highest num- Barbel (Barbus barbus) 23.994 ber of upriver migrating salmon Perch (Perca fluviatilis) 21 Bream (Abramis brama) 12.109 Family of bream (small) (Abramis spec.) 4 83 Chub (Leuciscus cephalus) 624 Graskarp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) 4 Bullhead (Cottus gobio) 3 Gudgeon (Gobio gobio) 6 White bream (Blicca bjoerkna) 135 Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus) 88

Photo: Peter Rey Pike ( lucius) 1 Upriver migrating barbel Crucian carp (Carassius carassius) 3 Carp (Cyprinus carpio) 10 was registered in October of Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) 8 every year. Grilse, that is early re- Nase (Chondrostoma nasus) 7.366 turning salmon prevailed, meas- Burbot (Lota lota) 1 uring between 70 and 75 cm Asp (Aspius aspius) 6.894 and weighing about 3 kg after Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salmo gairdneri) 18 one year ocean residence . Roach (Rutilus rutilus) 1.611 Further permanent monitoring Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) 6 Salmonids (small) (Salmonidae)5 73 Tench (Tinca tinca) 10 Bleak (Alburnus alburnus)2 317 Wels (Siluris glanis) 15 Vimba (Vimba vimba) 4 Pikeperch (Stizostedion lucioperca) 20 White-eye bream (Abramis sapa) 402 Sum6: 34 species 56.862

Photo: O. Niepagenkemper 1 Counting periods: 13.6. - 31.12.00, 1.1. - 31.12.01, 4.3. - 31.12.02, 1.1. - 31.12.03. Jumping salmon at the Sieg weir near Buisdorf 2 Eel and bleak only partly counted. 3 Thwaite shad not identified with certainty, perhaps allice shad 4 stations have been installed near Specimen belonging to the family of the bream below 30 cm length cannot be identified with certainty (bream, white-eye bream, zope). Troisdorf on the R. Agger and at 5 Salmonids below 25 cm length cannot be identified with certainty. the Auermühle mill in the R. 6 The sum of fish counted represents a minimum number of upstream migrating fish using the passage. Dhünn. Between 2000 and 2002 the French and the Germans have

24 by turns counted the fish caught 519 sea trout have been caught 2. Do fish migrate into the High in fyke-net in the monitoring sta- and marked in the monitoring Rhine tributaries Birs, Ergolz tion of the fish passage Iffezheim station at the Moselle barrage in and Wiese for spawning? - on the Upper Rhine (s. p. 17, 22). Koblenz before being released Yes, evident proof was given This was done in close co-opera- further upstream. In April 2000, (ASR 2004). tion between the Association the first two river lamprey were Saumon-Rhin (ASR), the Conseil caught in the Hessian R. Wisper. Downstream migration Supérieur de la Pêche, the Lan- They had presumably migrated According to estimates, the sur- desfischereiverband Baden and upstream to spawn. River lam- vival rates from the release of the Regierungspräsidium Karls- prey have also repeatedly been salmon alevins to the down- ruhe. Until the end of 2001, the spotted in the R. Nette. stream migrating smolts vary be- Bundesanstalt für Gewässer- tween 5 and 10 %. Therefore, kunde and from 2002 on the From the Upper Rhine the “smolt production” is estimat- ASR monitored upstream fish into the Black Forest ed on the basis of the sum of re- migration with video cameras. and Alsace leased alevins. Since 2000, far more than Sea lamprey, a surprisingly high 50.000 fish belonging to at least number of which migrate up- Lower Rhine 34 species have used this fish stream using the Iffezheim fish During the past years, up to passage. Among them, more passage, have been equipped 100,000 salmon smolts annually than 300 adult salmon, almost with radio transmitters before be- migrated downstream the 1,000 sea trout, more than 300 ing released into the R. Rench. Northrhine-Westphalian Rhine sea lamprey, 11 allice shad and a Evidence has been given of one tributaries into which alevins are new species in the Rhine, more individual which managed to released and travelled to the than 400 white-eye bream. pass by the vertical slot pass at ocean. In 2003, some 15,000 the Memprechtshofen mill. smolts migrated downstream the From the Rhine delta to Redds dug by sea lamprey have Sieg river system in Rhineland- the Lower Rhine been spotted in the R. Murg as Palatinate. In 1999, 81, respectively 47 sea well as in the Ill river system. trout were caught in the R. Sieg Middle Rhine system and in the Dhünn, a trib- From the Upper to the In 2003, approximately 8,000 utary to the Wupper. 5 of them High Rhine smolts were raised in the Sayn- were marked individuals and In 2003, upon request of the bach river system, 500 of them revealed their migration route: Swiss Bundesamt für Umwelt, descending from natural repro- 4 originated from the "Project Wald und Landschaft, the Associ- duction (see p. 27). The same year, migratie zeeforel" in the Nether- ation Saumon-Rhin caught sea some 2000 smolts left the Sauer lands which means that they had trout in the Iffezheim fish pas- river system in Luxemburg. been marked in the Rhine estu- sage, marked them with radio ary, the other one had been transmitters and released them Upper Rhine marked in Denmark. Since 1999, into the Old bed of the Rhine up- According to estimates, annually sea lamprey have repeatedly dug stream of Kembs (see map p. 17) 25 – 45,000 smolts migrate redds in the R. Sieg and Dhünn. in order to find the answers to downstream from the French two questions: Rhine catchment. Since 1992, From the Middle Rhine 1. How do fish behave when electro-fishing methods have into the tributaries encountering the barrages on been used to monitor the quality By the end of 2003, three sea the High Rhine? - Some sea of release sites and of juvenile lamprey had been registered trout used the fish passage to habitats in the Old bed of the after depositing eggs in the R. by-pass the Rheinfelden hy- Rhine and the Ill river system. The Saynbach. Since 1996, sea trout, droelectric power plant, some results are as encouraging as some of which were transported even used the navigation those in the release rivers in to the subnatural Lahn tributary locks of the and Baden, where growth of juvenile Dörsbach, have been caught at -Wyhlen power plants salmon has been stated to be the Lahnstein weir. Since 1992, on their way upstream. very satisfactory.

25 Return from the salmon even migrate upstream tion, only few returning salmon ocean the R. Lippe, even though juve- succeed in travelling through the nile fish have never been re- navigation locks. Since 1992, 46 In the Rhine delta, the Dutch leased into this river. Salmon also returning salmon have been have detected adult salmon since started colonising the R. Ruhr be- caught in the Koblenz fish pas- 1994, by the end of 2003 their fore stocking exercises started in sage on the Moselle and have number had grown to more this river. been released further upstream. than 700. In the R. Lahn they are caught at During 1996 to 2003, evidence the foot of the Lahnstein weir In 1990, decennia after the old was given of some 250 salmon and brought to the IG Lahn fish stock of Rhine salmon had died migrating upstream the tributar- hatchery where they are used for out, the first salmon migrated up- ies to the Middle Rhine in artificial reproduction. stream and unerringly swam Rhineland Palatinate and Hesse, from the ocean through the most of them were found in the Since 1995, evidence has been Lower Rhine and into the Sieg Saynbach river system (101). given of some 379 salmon re- where stocking exercises had Since 2001, they even stray into turning to the Upper Rhine. After started as early as 1990. Since the R. Nette to spawn, even the Iffezheim fish passage was then, there is evidence that by though juvenile salmon have put into operation in 2000, 2003, more than 1000 salmon never been released into this salmon have also been identified have migrated upstream the river. On the other hand, the in the R. Rench in Baden and in Lower Rhine and its tributaries. weirs in the rivers Lahn and the Alsacian Ill river system. Since 1998, individual adult Moselle disrupt upstream migra-

Return of salmon to the Rhine (see p. 19)

Section of River branches Stocking Stocking Return Returning First the Rhine or tributaries exercise exercise1 start salmon2 larvae3 start (until 2003 in million) (until 2003 Individuals) Rhine delta Waal, Lek, IJssel (NL) – – 1994 727 – Lower Rhine Lippe (NRW) – – 1998 5 – Ruhr (NRW) 2003 0,02 2002 4 – Wupper (NRW) 1993 2,10 1998 92 2002 Sieg (NRW + RP) 1988 9,90 1990 991 1994 Middle Rhine Ahr (RP) 1995 0,82 1999 34 2000 Nette (RP) – – 2000 > 4 2001 Saynbach (RP) 1994 0,75 1996 138 2000 Moselle/Sauer, Prüm, Kyll 1992 0,50 1995 46 (L, RP) – Lahn/Mühlb., Dill, Weil 1994 0,90 1997 36 2000 (RP, He, NRW) Wisper (He) 1999 0,18 2002 4 2003 Upper Rhine Main/Kinzig, Main + 1994 1,20 – – – Rodach (He, Bay) Alb, Murg, Rench, 1994 0,34 2000 4 – Kinzig (BW) Old bed of Rhine, Ill/Bruche 1991 2,80 1995 367 1997 etc. (F)

High Rhine Rhine + Ergolz, Birs, 1995 0,60 – – – Wiese etc. (CH)

Sum ca.20 2450 millon. 1 Juvenile salmon, above all alevins, about 3-5 cm length, able to feed until some weeks old. 2 Salmon returning from the North Sea, about 50-100 cm length, 2 to 5 years old. 3 Salmon larvae of naturally reproducing returning salmon.

26 All in all 2450 returning salmon have been identified beyond any doubt. The accurate number of re- turning salmon might be ten times Photo: ASR Strasbourg as high. That means, that perhaps Salmon alevin 20,000 salmon have migrated into the Rhine river system since 1990. to the Wupper on the Lower downstream to the ocean! Since With an estimated release of 20 Rhine. In the Sieg system, 9 were 2001, some 10 to 20 % of the million juvenile salmon since detected in the winter 1999/2000. annually downstream migrating 1988, and a maximum down- In the R. Naafbach, a tributary to smolts in the Saynbach river sys- stream migration of 2 million the Agger in the Sieg system, a tem are descendants of naturally smolts, salmon would, according large number of naturally repro- reproducing adult salmon. to this estimate, have reached duced salmon alevins was It is highly probable that, in the expected return rate of 1 caught and genetically tested in 2003, the first naturally repro- per cent (see p. 12, 25). 2001, after their parents had duced salmon have migrated been observed depositing eggs upriver from the ocean in or- Natural reproduction some months earlier. Since 1999, der to spawn in the Saynbach It is really true: salmon do repro- natural reproduction has been where they have participated duce naturally in the Rhine sys- observed every year in the Sieg in digging more than 20 redds. tem! In 1994, the first salmon lar- river system in Rhineland-Palati- It seems as if, for the first vae were detected in natural redds nate. time, the life cycle of a new dug into the Northrhine-West- A research project carried out by Rhine salmon population has phalian Bröl, a tributary to the R. the Northrhine-Westphalian min- been concluded. Sieg on the Lower Rhine. istry of environment looks into In the winter of 1999/2000, nat- Then adult salmon chose to dig the question what rivers must be ural salmon reproduction was their redds into more and more like for salmon to spawn natural- proved in the Mühlbach, a tribu- brooks. These natural nursery ly. A pilot study carried out on tary to the Rhine. However, the grounds are called Bruche, the R. Bröl, a tributary to the parent fish had been caught in Dhünn, Naafbach, Wisper, Ahr, Sieg, is aimed at producing guide- the Ahr and transported to the Nette, Saynbach, Brexbach, Elb- lines for Cleaning up salmon Mühlbach to which salmon have bach, Sieg, Nister and Wisser- spawning rivers. no natural access. bach (see table p. 26) . Since 2002, salmon are returning In the winter 1998/99, 12 redds In the winter of 1999/2000, a to the smallest release river, the dug by big salmonids were iden- redd was detected in the R. Ahr Hessian Wisper, and natural re- tified in the R. Dhünn, a tributary on the Middle Rhine. A genetic production has been proved. test carried out on an alevin taken from this redd revealed it to be a On the Upper Rhine, natural salmon. In the Mühlgraben near salmon and sea trout reproduc- Heimersheim on the Ahr three tion has been observed in the Al- naturally reproduced salmon parr sacian Ill river system since 1997, were identified. and since 2000 migratory fish Photo: ASR Strasbourg have unobstructed access to this Evidence of salmon hatch by combining In the R. Nette, a tributary to the drift net and electro fishing Rhine located between Ahr and river system by using the Iffez- Moselle, straying salmon have heim fish passage. In 2000, 21 been observed since 2001, and redds of large salmonids were they reproduce naturally. detected in the Ill tributary In 2000, salmon stocking was Bruche. In 2001, 37 were detect- stopped in the Brexbach, a tribu- ed in the Bruche and 7 in the tary to the Saynbach. Neverthe- side channel, in each of the years less, annually 100 to 500 natural- 2002 and 2003 more than 200 ly reproduced smolts migrate salmon redds were counted. Photo: BFS, Jörg Schneider Photo: BFS, Jörg Salmon spawning ground

27 Assessment and Conclusion

cess to the Alsacian Ill and the R. Rench in Baden has been open for migratory fish.

Monitoring stations There are six permanent monitor- ing stations for migratory fish in the Rhine river system. Others will follow, e.g. at the Gambsheim fish passage on the Upper Rhine, which will be operational in 2006.

Renaturing Structural improvements carried out in smaller Rhine tributaries Photo: Jan Kamman Jumping salmon (red circle) show that a lot can be done for Success migratory fish at rather low ex- penses. Modifications and re- The results of the programme on has been given that salmon re- moval of weirs and renaturation migratory fish in the Rhine river produce naturally in at least 12 of river banks have turned many system which started as Salmon release rivers. "Straying" salmon Rhine tributaries into suitable 2000 and is being continued start to colonize the tributaries. salmon habitats. within Rhine 2020 are impres- Many of the salmon released are sive, in particular concerning the already the descendants of par- P r o b l e m s reintroduction of the extinct ent fish from which eggs were Rhine salmon. collected on their way upstream Weirs and barrages from the ocean. Many weirs and hydroelectric Returning adults power plants still limit the move- For years, the number of adult Iffezheim fish passage ment of migratory fish in the salmon returning into the Rhine Counts at the new Iffezheim fish Rhine river system. There are 9 from the ocean has been increas- passage show that, during the large barrages in the Upper ing. During 1990 to end 2003, past three years, more than Rhine upstream of Iffezheim and 2450 salmon travelling upstream 50,000 fish belonging to 34 in the Great Alsace and 10 were counted. It is certain that the species have migrated upstream. more in the High Rhine. real number of upstream migrat- Not only long distance migratory ing individuals is much higher. fish such as salmon, sea trout, sea There is too little water flowing lamprey and allice shad use the through the old bed of the Natural reproduction , but this is also true of Rhine, the most important poten- Salmon again reproduce natural- many middle-distance migratory tial salmon habitat in the Upper ly in some of the tributaries and fish. The results prove that it was Rhine area. Within the renewal of more and more naturally repro- worth while to invest such large the concession for the hydroelec- duced smolts migrate down- sums into Europe’s biggest fish tric power plant Kembs, the fu- stream towards the sea. Evidence passage. Since the year 2000, ac- ture minimal flow will be in-

28 creased, and adapted to natural flow conditions. But still several barrages without any function- ing fish passages disrupt migra- tion. In the main Rhine tributaries, the R. Moselle, Lahn and Main there are too many barrages without suitable fish ladders.

Turbines During their downstream migra- tion, many juvenile salmon as well as other fish, in particular adult eel die in the turbines of hy- droelectric power plants. Chains of such power plants have partic- ularly noxious effects. Photo: ASR Strasbourg

Nursery grounds Many potential spawning and Summing up nursery grounds have great defi- ciencies, e.g. partly silted gravel Constructing the Iffezheim (accomplished in 2000) and Gambsheim beds, stabilized and unnatural (construction started in 2004) fish passages is not enough. Further fish river banks. At times, water quali- passages must follow, by-passing the barrages on the Upper and High ty does not fulfil the high de- Rhine in order to open up the way for migratory fish into the Old bed mands of salmon and sea trout. of the Rhine and to Switzerland. Organic pollution my harm the incubation and rearing of salmon ‚Salmon ladders’ are required to by-pass weirs in the tributaries Moselle, eggs and alevins in the gravel Lahn, Main and many of their smaller tributaries. bed. Many salmon ‚nursery grounds’ in the tributaries to the Rhine river sys- Monitoring stations tem must be cleaned up, e.g. by protecting and developing wide river More monitoring stations are bank stripes and by enhancing river dynamics. Suitable habitats for mi- needed to observe migratory gratory fish will only develop once the rivers are given more room. fish, e.g. on the R. Ill near Stras- bourg and the R. Bruche at Hydroelectric power plants must urgently be equipped with protection Avolsheim. In particular, they are facilities reducing fish mortality. required for recognizing marked salmon returning to the rivers. More monitoring stations are needed at the estuaries of the large Rhine tributaries. Stocking exercise The targeted stable salmon popu- In future, the coordination of salmon releases into the Rhine system will lations in the Rhine system have be improved. Fish of different stocks will no longer be cross-bred in arti- not yet been achieved. For some ficial reproduction. years still, juvenile fish will have to be released. In future, stocking exercises will no longer be necessary in rivers with The origin of salmon used for sufficient natural reproduction. stocking and their cross-breeding may be genetically problematic. The target is wild salmon in the Rhine in 2020.

29 Bibliography

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31 Back: LU59813 | 18.05.1984 The mouth of the R. Ahr at -Kripp © LMZ RP/Gustav Rittstieg

Cover: LU76386 | 25.07.1988 The of the Middle Rhine between Kauf and with Pfalzgrafenstein © LMZ RP/Gustav Rittstieg