Utrecht's fish doorbell closes after record year
The camera of Utrecht’s fish doorbell will turn off today. The fish migration season is over, and the livestream will take a break until next year. The fifth edition of the fish doorbell was a great success and a record year, with no less than 30 million visits from 2.3 million unique visitors to the site, RTV Utrecht reported.
Visitors to the fish doorbell site can press a button if they see a fish in front of the Weersluis in Utrecht. That alerts a lock keeper to open the lock and let the fish swim through. This year, over 200,000 doorbell rings helped fish pass the Weerdsluis safely.
The fish doorbell spiked in popularity after John Oliver mentioned it on the American late-night show Last Week Tonight. According to RTV Utrecht, the city’s simple solution to letting migrating fish pass a lock also featured in the Hong Kong news, and an Irish library had kids follow the fish migration via a special screen.
“The fish doorbell is now not only an icon in Utrecht, but it has also become indispensable far outside the country,” Utrecht alderman Linda Voortman told the broadcaster. “It makes me very proud, because it shows how many people enjoy the fish doorbell, but also how important it is.”
This year, a total of 13 different fish species were spotted, including the rare eel and bleak - fish that only survive in clean water. There were also perch, pike, bream, and catfish. The variety is a positive sign for the water quality in Utrecht.
