The world's first fish doorbell unveiled in Utrecht

On Monday Utrecht got its very first fish doorbell. The bell is intended to help fish that are stuck in front of a closed lock gate at the Weerdsluis to go through. This can be done through a special website the municipality has launched where people can follow the live stream and then help to open the gate by pressing a virtual doorbell icon next to it, DUIC reported.

The website gives the visitors an explanation of how the bell works, but also offers information about fish species that can be found in the Utrecht canals. Additionally, there is also a collection of the best fish photos. When someone presses the fish doorbell, the website will automatically take a screenshot of the live stream giving you an option to share it.

The website drew huge interest from its first day, which led to the municipality having to increase the capacity of the site. The number of people that can now access the website without any problems at a time increased to 750 visitors, as opposed to 270 when the website was first launched, AD reported.

Every spring thousands of fish swim through Utrecht in search of a place to lay eggs. Because the Weerdsluis does not open often enough in the spring, the fish sometimes end up waiting for a long time and risk being eaten by herons or cormorants, for example.