Heat and drought force Tyrol fish farmer to empty pond

Heat and water shortages are threatening fish farms in Tyrol, with one fish farmer in the Außerfern region forced to empty his pond, ORF reported. Another breeder in the Unterland region has enough water but is struggling with high temperatures.

The situation at Fischerhütte Tannheim, a fishing hut at the Greither Weiher pond, has worsened daily during the heat. Owner Tom Waibel said the business had been severely affected by the heatwave since the second week of July.

The pond’s water level and the water level in the surrounding moor have fallen from week to week. The groundwater level has also continued to drop, while thunderstorms failed to provide enough rain. Waibel said the situation had now become critical and announced an emergency fish-out, with the pond due to be emptied this week.

Removing the fish is currently the only measure available, Waibel said. Each fish consumes oxygen and needs space to survive. He will suspend fish farming in the pond until water levels and supplies have recovered sustainably. It is unclear whether that will happen this season. Waibel said the pond had never faced such conditions before.

Ewald Offner, who runs the Bichlacher fishing ponds in Kössen, said there was enough water at his facility, but warm nights were causing problems. The ponds no longer cooled down, creating an extreme situation for fish farming. Offner said the facility still had enough cold water, but conditions had never been so severe.

At the Ahoj trout pond in Längenfeld, water levels are unchanged from previous years. The water is somewhat cloudy because of a mudslide, but operators can pump in water from the neighbouring river.