– It affects me personally, says Bjørn Tore Kjølholt. On Sunday, he turned his car into the parking lot at the grocery store on Vesterøy. The car park is located by the sea on the island, which is the second largest in the holiday paradise Hvaler. Bjørn Tore Kjølholt works full-time to conserve sea trout in the Oslofjord. He says the fish die in this pipe. Photo: Stein Ove Korneliussen / news The sight that met Kjølholt was sad. At least ten dead sea trout lay on the asphalt. Think it’s a stream But the experience is not unique. Kjølholt says that the problem started in earnest when the car park was raised, so that the cars would stand dry. – When there is high water and rain, this gutter is filled with water, he says. The end of the car park has a sunken part. This is asphalted, but must remove storm water. The chute ends in a pipe. During rain and high water, this gutter is filled with water. The sea trout thus go up to spawn. Photo: Stein Ove Korneliussen/news When there is a lot of water, the channel can look like a stream. – And the sea trout thinks it’s a stream. It swims up to spawn. But it doesn’t go any further. When it doesn’t, it hides in this pipe here, says Kjølholt. Some of the ten dead sea trout Bjørn Tore Kjølholt found. Photo: Bjørn Tore Kjølholt – Death trap When the water recedes, the sea trout gets trapped inside the pipe and dies. – What they have actually set up here is a death trap for the sea trout. These two should have been up in the stream and fertilized the eggs so that they become new sea trout, he says. He shows two dead fish. The female fish is full of roe. A male and female fish lie dead. The female fish is full of roe. Photo: Stein Ove Korneliussen / news – We have an Oslofjord that has almost collapsed. And then we contribute to the collapse by making constructions like this, he says with frustration. Kjølholt believes that a far too poor job was done when the car park was raised. – We know so much better. If we use the land management tools we have, we can make it better for the sea trout. Failure at all levels Stian Stensland is professor of ecology and nature management at NMBU. He is not surprised by the fate of the sea trout at Hvaler. He believes that it is typical across the country that it fails at all levels. – It already starts during planning, which is often not done well enough. In the next paragraph, it must be approved by the State Administrator, who does not set detailed requirements. Then it often falls all the way down to the contractor, who often makes a few mistakes. Eventually the error becomes quite massive. Professor Stian Stensland at Krumbekken in Vestby. In the background we see one of around 100,000 culverts in the country. Photo: Stein Ove Korneliussen/news The professor estimates that there are around 100,000 culverts around the country. – Many thousands of them are a problem for the fish, says Stensland. The Scientific Council for Salmon Management concluded in a report from 2022 that human development is the most important reason why sea trout have disappeared from many waterways. Want a solution In Rogaland, measures have been taken in 105 small and large streams. This has created good living conditions for the sea trout. But in the car park at Hvaler, part of the challenge is that there are many actors. Mayor Mona Vauger (Ap) says the municipality will initiate a dialogue with the landowner. – Doing it right for the future is important and right, if we are to increase the stock, she says. The landowner on the site is Pejkon AS. Chairman Kenneth Haraldsen tells news that they too want to find a solution.
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Sea trout die in droves in this parking lot – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
