– What a beast! It looks more like a great white shark than a fish. This was the reaction of the operations operator in Stavanger municipality, Patrick Fiskå, when he caught sight of what was hidden in Vassverkstjørna (or Vannassen in the vernacular) on Wednesday last week. The dam in Stavanger is currently being drained of water, because the dams are to be restored. When almost all the water in the pond had drained out, the workers caught sight of something that looked like a fish. When they finally managed to capture the creature, it wasn’t exactly a small crab. Here, the municipality filmed the catch. Environmental crime – He swam straight into the ditch, so it went very well, says operations manager at the contractor company TS, Henrik Tunheim. It was a large Koi carp. A species that does not belong in Vannassen, but which is not unusual to have in garden ponds. This is what Vannassen looks like after being drained of water. Photo: Stavanger municipality – According to the species database, he can weigh up to six kilos. This one touched on it. I am absolutely sure of that, says nature manager Vegard Ankarstrand in Stavanger municipality. They euthanized the fish after he was dragged ashore. Ankerstrand is not satisfied with the fact that people have seen the fish in the water. – It is pure environmental crime. And that is a huge problem, he says. Because it can cause great harm when people release fish into water where they don’t belong. – They enter an established ecosystem, and can turn it upside down. It can lead to the extinction of other species, states the nature manager. He points to concrete problems such as salamanders becoming open, stingrays disappearing and parasites and diseases being introduced into the water. Rehabilitation of the dams in Vannassen Stavanger municipality is now renovating the two dams (dam plant) in Vannassen on Åsen. The construction work started in November 2023, and according to the plan will last for just over a year. Central parts of the Vannassen free area are closed while the work is in progress. Vannverkstjernet is drained from November 2023 to May 2024, and is then gradually filled up again with a natural influx of water. (Source: Stavanger municipality) Have also found turtles It is not the first time that the municipality has experienced that people have seen foreign species in their waters, and it is not unique to Stavanger either. Ankarstrand lists several other species that have appeared in Rogaland: Gjedde Åbor Sørv Gullfisk Turtle (Actually! But that was a long time ago…) – We see that foreign species of fish are appearing in many lakes. This is partly because people deliberately let them in. The reason may be that they want to fish for him, that they just want to get rid of him or that they deliberately do it to destroy it, says the nature manager. Nevertheless, he highlighted one positive thing, and that is that people are good at reporting to the municipality when they discover alien species. They had been informed about a year ago that there was a foreign fish in Vannassen, but they were unable to catch him now that the water is on its way out. The restoration of the area is to be completed in May 2024. Large amounts of rubbish have also been found in connection with the emptying of the pond. Other things that have come to the surface are rubbish. Such as this moped. Photo: Stavanger municipality
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Stavanger municipality has removed the water in Vannassen – see what they found – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
