Monster Catfish Taking Over German Rivers

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:




The enormous wels catfish is rapidly expanding in German waters. The fish can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds, making recreational fishermen excited about the prospects of catching one. While biologists aren't yet calling the fish pests, they are puzzled by the boom.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning when the wels catfish bit. Peter Neumann fought with the beast for a full hour before he finally released the hook from the enormous mouth and threw the fish back into the Rhine river. "What would you do with such a huge animal?" asks Neumann, an expert on the wels catfish, a large species found across Europe. They don't taste particularly good, and they generally have very little usable meat. But catching the fish as a sport is becoming more and more popular. Many anglers are discovering the opportunity to snag some of the impressive specimen right in their own backyard.

This opportunity is greater than ever before. The population of wels catfish, also known as sheatfish, is rapidly expanding in Germany. The fish can grow up to be three meters (10 feet) long, weigh up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and live as long as 80 years. Fishermen say the Wels population has been increasing at a swift pace, and researchers are puzzled by the sudden boom.

The wels catfish itself is full of secrets. No one can say exactly where it came from. And very few have had the privilege of setting eyes on it -- only those fishermen who are lucky enough to have their bait land right in front of the fish's nose, deep in the dark waters where it spends its whole life sitting in muddy holes and avoiding any unnecessary movement. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/rapid-expansion-of-wels-catfish-causing-takeover-of-german-rivers-a-878417.html