The eel plantation may have destroyed the lake ling population in the 20th century. In 2015, attempts were made to repopulate the native species, but so far it seems unsuccessful.

Researchers from the Balaton Limnological Institute found the native fish species, which was considered extinct, in the lake, the Center for Ecological Research said. Two healthy specimens were caught on Thursday. As they write, the reintroduction of the species in 2015 was not in vain based on all of this.

Larch has become significantly rarer in the lake since the middle of the last century and has certainly become extinct. The main reason for this was presumably the eel, which was planted in large numbers at the time, and was an effective predator of a species of fish found in a similar habitat. As of 2015, the reintroduction of ling into the lake started with the cooperation of Balatoni Halgazdálkodási Nonprofit Zrt. And the Department of Fisheries at the University of Szent István.

However, so far no specimens have been detected during monitoring and the species has only appeared in the Lake Balaton Fisherman’s Dam only a few times since resettlement.

The specimens captured by the researchers were between 10 and 12 inches in size and were returned to the lake after photography. The strengthening of the population of Lake Balaton has yet to wait, until then fishing for the species is prohibited. However, the survey results prove the efficiency of stocking, which is another step in conserving Lake Balaton’s native fish population.

The larch (Lota lota) is the only freshwater representative of the cod in Hungary and is found in most of the Hungarian rivers. It was voted Fish of the Year 2013 in the Hungarian Haltology Society’s online vote.



Lake Balaton has also become fashionable as a place to live, but not all settlements are on the rise.


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Also, in many cases, smaller settlements, towns and villages take the lead.

Lake Balaton will become posh, vineyards into ponds if we don't change


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According to Ferenc Jordán, head of the Balaton Limnological Institute, the construction of the green area by the lake should stop immediately.