Word Fish Migration Day: a public event at the Rafina River in Rafina, Attiki, Greece
On 21st of April, a Saturday, friends and I will officially participate in World Fish Migration Day!
A few years back we organized a successful even within the WFMD net work (see ) and it was a success.
Actually the reason I am doing this independently from my day-job at HCMR this year is that this day just happens to coincide with Greeces BIG Bird Race competition* - a tradition that we have built-up in Athens since the early 2000s. So since I happen to be both a birder and a 'fish activist', I want to participate in both these events....(So both will be rather side-projects...sorry...).
My team of birders (yes...) and colleagues from the institute will hold a two hour public event at Rafina Stream river mouth and we will do some fish sampling; we will display our live catch in a small aquarium (...after this we will move on to continue the bird race ending up at Tritsis Park at 19:00 see asterisk "*" below at end of this post).
Rafina river is an important un-obstructed stream for a few migratory fishes, especially european eels. Its also an important restoration opportunity concerning "Nature Near Urban Areas" that needs special care (...and its threatened). We invite the public to come down to Rafina and see what we do when we scientifically survey for fishes and to talk about eels and grey mullets and other fascinating migratory fishes.
We aim to:
- Do scientific sampling using a back-pack electrofisher and a seine net
- Display live fishes in a field-set up "wild aquarium"
- Fishes will be photographed in the aquaria and then released alive back into the river
- Anyone interested will be informed and allowed to take photographs
- No fish will be harmed - we do not encourage the keeping wild fishes in captivity.
Electrofishing is a great way to capture fishes without injuring them. The electrofishing generator momentarily stuns fishes which can then be scooped up with a dip-net, measured and released alive back to the river. Live fishes can also be placed for short periods into a field aquarium to be photographed. If the field aquarium is set up to display a natural scene it can be called a "wild aquarium" set up- and this is a kind of art.
This kind of public awareness event is very easy to demonstrate if you have some basic ichthyological knowledge and an official licence to capture and handle native fishes for research purposes.
Meeting Place:
River mouth of the Rafina River
Site coordinates: 38.018206, 24.011703
(at the footbridge, Karamanlis
Park, Attiki):
12:00-14:00
FREE participation: Just meet us on
site.
This event is supported by the World Migratory Fish Day
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| Rafina is a port town just 25 Kms East of Athens. For more information on the Rafina river and campaigns to protect it see: http://zogaris.blogspot.gr/2015/03/campaign-rafina-river-re-visited.html |
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| This is the Rafina river near its river mouth next to Karamanlis Park. The foot-bridge next to Evvoikou street and spanning to Karamanlis Park is where we will meet. This is the stretch of the stream we plan to sample. The urban and peri-urban Rafina river is the site of a controversial river management project (flood measures etc). For more information and the credit of this drone photo see: http://www.irafina.gr/sta-charakomata-simera-gia-megalo-rema-rafinas/ |
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| Setting up a simple "Wild Aquarium" during electrofishing is an easy way to show people fishes and to take great pics. In this case we were on expedition during an HCMR project and didn't take much care in the set-up. |
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| All ichthyologists should take more pics of fishes. Here your's truly trying his best. |
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| Kids love wild aquariums. This is from our first World Migration Day celebration at Vravrona in 2014. See: http://zogaris.blogspot.gr/2014/05/world-fish-migration-day-vravrona.html |
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| The European eel is a globally threatened fish - listed as Critical by IUCN - it is a species we will try to capture and survey for during our work at Rafina. We should also capture grey mullet species also. All to be displayed for a short time in captivity within the "wild aquarium" set up. This eel is also from our first World Migration Day celebration at Vravrona in 2014. See: http://zogaris.blogspot.gr/2014/05/world-fish-migration-day-vravrona.html * For more information on the Bird Race - within the 2nd Annual Greek Bird Race please contact the Hellenic Ornithological Society or see: http://www.ornithologiki.gr\ BIRD RACE 2018 |
