A unique case has been recorded in the capital of Ukraine: a local resident caught a large eel weighing 1.2 kilograms in the Dnipro River. A photo of the rare fish was shared on social media, sparking significant interest among anglers and scientists.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Catch: Where and How the Rare Fish Was Caught
A fisherman named Yuliana Rudyik caught the eel near Vodnyky Island in Kyiv. To catch it, she used a bottom fishing rig with a bait made from a goby, which allowed her to secure such an unusual trophy. Such finds in the Dnipro are extremely rare, as just a few decades ago eels were widespread throughout the river basin, but now they have almost disappeared from its waters.
Reasons for the Eel’s Appearance in the Dnipro and Experts’ Opinions
Icthyologist Julia Kutsokon from the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine noted in her comments that the eel likely did not make its way to the Dnipro on its own. The life cycle of this fish is quite complex: eels migrate to the Sargasso Sea for spawning and then travel with the Gulf Stream to European rivers. They spend most of their lives in rivers. However, due to the large number of hydraulic structures and dams, the path for migrating fish to the Dnipro is nearly impassable.
“The eel might have come from some aquaculture facility. There are methods for growing larvae, and perhaps such practices are also used in facilities near Kyiv,” the ichthyologist suggests.
Experts do not rule out that the eel could have entered the Dnipro from fish farms that use special technologies for growing larvae. Such cases demonstrate that even under current conditions, rare fish species can appear in the river, although their occurrence remains an exception.