Teichwirt is haunted by the otter - and desperate

Created: 12/26/2022, 1:41 p.m

By: Tanja Kipke

Lined up next to each other: Thomas Resch with the char from his pond.

© Piper

He comes by almost every day: an otter is causing problems for a pond owner in Bischofswiesen.

Thomas Resch is desperate.

Bischofswiesen – The fresh otter tracks are still clearly visible in the snow.

"He's there almost every day," says Thomas Resch, Teichwirt and 2nd Mayor of Bischofswiesen (Berchtesgadener Land district).

40,000 rainbow trout thrive in the Stanggaß fish farm, which has 19 tanks, from fry to adult fish.

Otter comes "almost every day" and steals Rech's trout

Several pools are closed because the trout are on display for the otter.

"The robber is clever," says farmer Resch, "the damage is great." The small slide in the snow leads directly into the water.

"It was the otter," he says.

"He has fun sliding." Together with his ex-wife Veronika he runs the fish farm.

The business is considered difficult, even if the demand for fish is generally high.

The bureaucratic requirements that pond owners are confronted with are enormous, says Resch.

One thing that makes things even more difficult is approaching on clawed paws: the otter has been coming to visit for two years now.

He has already killed a four-digit number of fish.

At first, Resch didn't even notice.

Because the otter didn't leave behind a bloodbath.

He "worked" cleanly and without a trace: until the stock in one of the tanks apparently shrank.

In the event of otter damage, the pond owner receives compensation, but this is by no means sufficient to compensate for the loss.

Resch is concerned that such incidents will repeat themselves.

Living idly by the otter's side is like "business suicide," he says.

Fishing associations are also sounding the alarm in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.

They see each other, native fish and birds threatened by the otters.

Shooting not possible according to the law – “It can’t go on like this”

The problem: Announced EU subsidies to protect the basin are a long time coming.

"If I now put money into further protective measures myself, it may be that tomorrow everything will be different again," he says.

"I'm in the same boat as the alpine farmers who rebel against the wolf." At first glance, the figures for fish farming sound good: tens of thousands of broodlings and Sömmerlings - trout that are less than a year old - thrive in the cellar in the mostly dark .

It takes around 20 months for a fish to be ready for slaughter.

Resch's customers are mostly restaurateurs from the region.

But the otter keeps interfering.

"It can't go on like this," says Resch, expecting political support.

Because the otter is strictly protected.

A simple removal would have criminal consequences. 

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