Image: Leaffish
River pearl mussels taken from local rivers were once displayed by ruling families as a sign of power and wealth: they adorned the Austrian imperial crown, valuable chasubles and are said to have been among Empress Elisabeth’s favorite pieces of jewelry. For centuries, Feldaist, Naarn and the Maltsch have been the habitat of these highly demanding creatures, which have come under severe pressure due to environmental influences. A delicate pearl can only be found in every 3,000th shell.
More than 200 young freshwater pearl mussels have now been released as part of a species protection project in the Maltsch, the border river between the Mühlviertel and southern Bohemia north of Freistadt. The young animals are part of the cross-border Interreg project “Malemuschel”. After growing up in a Czech breeding facility for a few years, they have now been transferred to the Maltsch. At the time of release, the mussels are approximately one to two centimeters large. Hopefully they now have a long life ahead of them: the freshwater pearl mussels can live more than 100 years and grow to a size of 10 to 15 centimeters.
Well-suited habitat
The Maltsch, Male in Czech, is now designated on both sides of the border as a so-called Natura 2000 area and as a European protected area. “Here the freshwater pearl mussel, which is particularly sensitive to the rising water temperatures of the local rivers, still finds comparatively good living conditions,” says ecologist Sarah Höfler. From the wet meadows surrounding the Maltsch, organic particles reach the riverbed and serve as food for the mussels. In addition, the river is largely in a natural state over long stretches, as the fateful location on the Iron Curtain severely restricted human intervention in the area for a long time.
Nevertheless, the Maltsch currently only houses a fraction (around 400 animals) of its former mussel population. The reason for the population decline is the extremely critical growth phase in which the young mussels have to survive in the sediment for five to ten years. There should not be too many fine sediments and mobile sand fractions in the water during this period. That’s why the mussels were now raised in a breeding facility and only now released.
The freshwater pearl mussel project on the Maltsch is widely recognized. The Wels Institute for Aquatic Ecology “Blattfisch”, which provides scientific support for the reintroduction, won the “Neptune” State Prize for Water in May this year together with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences and the State of Upper Austria. In the medium term, the goal is to further improve water and sediment retention in the landscape and thus make the river climate-friendly. This would mean that the Maltsch would also offer the mussels a sustainable habitat.
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Source: Nachrichten
