Mullets find new home in Kinneret, help preserve lake's ecosystem
Populating the Kinneret with mullets usually takes place once a year. It's done in order to preserve the lake's quality of water by maintaining a balanced population of algae.
By TOBIAS SIEGALSome 50,000 flathead grey mullets found a new home in the Kinneret, December 2, 2020(photo credit: GUY RUBINSTEIN)
Some 50,000 flathead grey mullet fish found a new home in the Kinneret on Wednesday, as part of an effort to preserve the ecosystem of Israel's most important lake, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry announced.Populating the Kinneret with mullets usually takes place once a year. It's done in order to preserve the lake's ecological system and quality of water by maintaining a balanced population of algae.A toxic cyanobacterial blue-green alga known as Aphanizomenon ovalisporum was first detected in Lake Kinneret in 1994, and its presence has been noted each summer since. The spread of the algae can damage the quality of fresh water and even cause deaths in humans and animals.Flathead grey mullets play an important role in preserving a healthy balance of algae in the Kinneret, by serving as biological filters that help reduce the number of toxic algae, keeping the Kinneret as Israel's major water source. "Populating water sources with fish is an important tool for managing lakes. It provides an opportunity to take an active role in intentionally enriching deluded populations, increasing the relative part of desired fish and adding new kinds of fish that might improve the ecosystem," said Guy Rubinstein, head of maritime agriculture at the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.The fish are usually transferred to the Kinneret from another natural water source, but this time was different as the ministry used fish from the maritime reproduction facility at Ma'agan Michael."This method has been successfully implemented over dozens of years in fresh water sources across the world," Rubinstein added, noting that "the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry supports and promotes the development of producing mullets in reproduction facilities, which has seen significant advances in recent years which are now becoming evident." The operation was headed by the fishing branch of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry and was accompanied by researchers and experts in maritime preservation and local fishermen.
