State of the Environment in
Vennesla 2001

 
Norsk

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                                   FISH IN OTRA

In the later years Otra has become a popular place for recreation and fishing. When June 1 arrives, fishers gather along the riverbank with their fish-rod, trying to get the "big one." But what species of fish live in Otra and how is the quality and quantity of these?

Different species of fish in Otra:

Salmon: Size: 7 cm to 140 cm                         Weight: 4 g to 35 kg

Salmon has an oblong body and seems a bit squeezed at each side. Salmon spawns and grows up in fresh-waters, but swims to sea when they are 1-6 years old. Salmon travels long distances in the ocean 1-4 years before they are sexually mature, and then they travel up the river to spawn. The female fish spawns 1000-1200 eggs per kg of its own weight. 1-2 % of the eggs survive. Examination of the skin of 154 fish gave the scientists enough information to settle that 77 % of the salmon population in Otra actually were wild salmon (a large amount of these were baby salmons which had run away after being fed). The original salmon in Otra has almost been exterminated, but there is hope that a new group of original salmon will be founded.

"Bleke": "Bleke" is the local name of a stationary salmon which was seperated from original salmon when the ice melted 9000 years ago. It went from the ocean and up to the river through the valley Setesdalen to spawn. The "Bleke" established at certain places in upper Otra and became a reproductive fish. In later years, the "Bleke-population" has moved to live only in the areas around Kilefjord in the south to Rysstad in the upper part of Otra. "Bleke" is a rare fish that is hardly seen in the rest of the world, and in Norway there are only two rivers that contain "Bleke": Otra and Namsen.

Trout: Size (seatrout): ca 100 cm                            Weight (seatrout): ca 15 kg The trout that travels through fresh water and salt water is called sea-trout. This is the most popular kind of trout to catch in Otra. The trout is pretty similar to the salmon, but it`s more squeezed, has brighter colours, is sharper and smaller. The trout in Otra is quite uniqe with its differences within the colour of the skin. In several places you can get lucky and catch a trout that has a marbled pattern instead of the regular pattern with spots. The fish is often found in the areas around Evje and Vennesla.

The angler - an eternal optimist...

Perch: Size: 15-30 cm                                      Weight: 100-500 g (max 5 kg)

The skin of the perch is covered by strong shields and the fin at the back has spines on it. The body is long and flat. The perch preferes beach-areas along a lake and swims together in a shoal most of the time. 

"Ørekyten"(phoxinus phoxinus lat.):

Size: ca 10 cm.                                                   Weight: ca 10 g

The "Ørekyte" is a torpedo-shaped fish. They live in shoals in rivers with strong streams, brooks and lakes with a ground of gravel and stone. The female spawns 200-1000 yellow eggs in the summer. This fish is mostly used as bait.

Eal: Size: Male: 35-45 cm           Female: 40-150 cm        Weight: Female 500 g The eal looks like a snake with a long thin body and a sylindrical cross-section. The female spawns large amounts of eggs and dies afterwards. Certain eals travel up the river in the fresh-water during spring or summer.
The eal can climb up steep mountains if only some moisture appears. Most of the eals in fresh-water develope to female eals. Parts of Otra, south of Heisel, got the name "Ålestrømmen" (which means            "the eal-stream") from this fish.

(sources: "Fisker" by Bror Jonsson and the Internett website: http:\\www.otralax.no)

Anglers about fishing:

Why do people fish in Otra? - THE EXITEMENT(!) hoping you will catch something. You get to be outdoors in fresh air, and you can follow the development in the river. Fishing is also a nice hobby. An angler said with a humoristic voice: "Since the government`s budget is so tight, we have to fish to get enough food."

How often and how long do anglers fish?       - Most anglers fish 2-3 times a week, often 3-4 hours every time. But on the other hand, there are fanatics who fish day and night in the summer. But some people only fish once a week, one little hour at a time. Worth knowing: It can take up to one hour to land a fish, but that depends on how the fish is hooked.

How is the quality of the fish? - EXCELLENT! The quality of the salmon and the trout is especially good in the beginning of the season with its red meat. During the season the fish gets more brown-skinned, and the meat turns whiter. The fish also turns less tasty. Otherwise, there are a lot of small-fish, especially trout. WAY too much small-fish, many would say.

This table shows a statistical development of the amount of salmon and seatrout that were caught in the years from 1993 to 2000. Blue colour corresponds to salmon and red colour corresponds to seatrout. The largest amount of caught fish was in 1998, and it amounts to 2969 fish all together.

Two fishing-stories:

- Outside Vigeland Metal Refinery, a couple of workers enjoyed their lunch by fishing in Otra. Suddenly one of the men got a bite. He pulled the rod and crancked up the line. Finally he got his catch ashore. Unfortunally it wasn`t a fish, but his friend`s campingchair that had got hooked on his spoon. It had blown into the water. The chair is still in use!

-This happened when two buddies got a 9,2 kilos salmon on the hook while they were fishing from a boat. The fish took off and the two pals were holding onto the rod. Along the shore right beside them, another angler was throwing out his line. They yelled to him and told him to catch up his line in case the lines would wind together. The other angler didn`t react. When the two friends got the salmon into the boat, without a hoof, they went over to the other angler. They asked him with a rather angry voice why he didn`t listen. It turned out that the guy was from England and he hadn't understood a word they'd said.

At Mx-sport in Vennesla you can buy almost everything you need to go fishing. They also sell fishingcards. You will  need that if you are over 16 years old and want to fish in the river. You have to carry it all the time during fishing. At the picture Merethe is wearing a complete wadingsuit and life jacket. She is holding two important equipments: a fishing rod and a hoof.