On Monday, June 16, Minister Jo Brouns, together with INBO employees Jeroen Van Wichelen and Johan Auwerx, released Weatherfish in the Schulensbroek (Limburg). Weatherfish are fish that need marsh and flood areas to survive. The Weatherfish is particularly rare in Flanders, and for this reason, a Species Protection Program (SPP) was drawn up for the species. The populations that INBO still found here and there in Flanders, partly with the help of eDNA or environmental DNA, were severely weakened by inbreeding.
Therefore, the Aquatic Fauna Research Center of INBO, with the support of LIFE B4B, bred Weatherfish. This was done with attention to genetic diversity by introducing genetic material from parent animals of Dutch origin. On June 16, INBO released more than 17,000 larvae in the Schulensbroek. The work of the Aquatic Fauna Research Center does not stop with the releases in the Schulensbroek. In total, the center has already bred more than 80,000 juvenile Weatherfish with Dutch genes this year. A total of 18,487 fish remain at the center for further rearing. The rest of the 80,000 fish were released in five Flemish nature reserves: Keuzemeersen, KBR Kruibeke, Webbekomsbroek, Vierselsgebroekt, and Schulensbroek. These areas are characterized by habitats that meet the requirements of the Weatherfish. The Schulensbroek, for example, has been restored to high quality for the large mudminnow through nature restoration works (LIFE Delta).
The release on June 16 in the Schulensbroek was made possible thanks to Minister Jo Brouns, the Agency for Nature and Forests, Friends of the Schulensbroek, Natuurpunt, VMM, Regional Landscape Haspengouw and Voeren, the municipality of Herk-de-Stad, and the farmers who work intensively with local nature managers and associations.
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