- "Problematic anchovy" in the lake?
Fish Population in the popular Gelterswoog Lake near Kaiserslautern is to be further investigated following reports of possible pike bites on bathers. This was decided by the Environmental Protection department of the city of Kaiserslautern in a discussion with local anglers. The fish monitoring is working well and will continue after the bathing season, it was stated.
Reports of bite wounds on bathers had caused a stir regionally last summer. Experts had considered it unlikely, but not impossible, that a "problem pike" could have been responsible for the injuries. In agreement with the city, anglers had fished in the lake to document the population of predators and prey.
Pike relocated
So far, active, hunting pikes have been observed, the city reported. "That's normal in such a large body of water in nature." Last year, a pike was removed that could theoretically have caused a bite, it was stated. According to fishing law, it was relocated to a water body of the anglers.
There is a deficit of so-called coarse fish, which form the food base of the predators, according to the municipality. This could be due to a bream die-off in 2022. "This result was surprising - the current monitoring clearly showed the shortage." Furthermore, two very large carp were discovered in the Gelterswoog, which could be around 30 to 50 years old. Artificial interventions in the fish population are not planned in this lake.
The relocated pike was moved to a different water body as per fishing laws, serving as an alternate predator in another ecosystem. The absence of coarse fish in the lake might be contributing to the "problem pike" issue, as these fish form the primary food source for predators.
