Fish doorbell popular again: Over 105,000 attempts made to help fish in Utrecht
The world's first doorbell for fish again proved to be popular both in the Netherlands and abroad, the city of Utrecht said on Friday. The doorbell is actually a button on a website paired with a livestream from an underwater camera showing an area close to the Weerdsluis, a lock between the city and the Vecht River.
People watching the livestream were asked to click the button whenever they see a fish, which triggers a virtual doorbell to notify the lock keeper. That person can then open up the gate, allowing fish to swim through during the migration season. It allows fish to continue their path upstream to lay their eggs in the Kromme Rijn.
This was the third year that the doorbell and livestream were made accessible to the public. Many thousands of fish were allowed to swim through the lock thanks to the bell having been successfully rung over 105,000 times. It represented a ten-fold increase compared to a year earlier, bringing enthusiasm back up to levels seen in 2021, the first year the program was organized by Utrecht.
Perch and bream were the most common fish to pass through the lock. There were also catfish and eel spotted, which are more unusual. Other fish common to the area include the ide, northern pike, pikeperch, common rudd, and the common bleak. The site administrators' favorite photos were selected for an online gallery.
The website was reached by over a million unique visitors, who accessed the website 8.2 million times since it went online in early March. The livestream was turned off on Friday because the migration season ended.
"Most users came from Germany (464,000) and the United States (137,000). In the Netherlands there were 131,000 users. There were also many users from Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland and Canada," the city said in a statement.
"The fish doorbell has become an integral part of Utrecht, but the fish doorbell is also extremely popular internationally. That shows how many people enjoy the fish doorbell, but also how important it is. It is a wonderful initiative to increase knowledge about nature under water and in the city," said Alderman Linda Voortman.
