The Fish Doorbell: Help a fish on the other side of the world
Learn about how you can help the fish of Utrecht (over 18,000km away!) in their annual upstream migration, with the help of the Fish Doorbell.
What is the Fish Doorbell?
The Fish Doorbell (or visdeurbel in Dutch) is exactly what it sounds like – a doorbell for fish!
The Vecht, a branch of the river Rhine, flows through Utrecht. As it goes through the city, the Vecht passes through the Weerdsluis lock – a lock is a bit like a gate that’s been engineered to help boats travel along rivers or canals uphill. If you’d like to know a bit more about locks, we recommend heading over to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
At this time of year when it’s spring in the northern hemisphere, the Weerdluis lock isn’t opened very often for boats to pass through. This is also the time of year when fish swim up the Vecht, looking for a place to lay their eggs. When the lock is kept shut for longer periods of time, groups of fish have to wait for the lock to open, making them easy prey for predators like grebes and cormorants.
What did the people of Utrecht do to fix this problem? They created the fish doorbell!
An underwater camera was set up, and anyone anywhere in the world can watch the livestream. When someone watching sees a fish in the livestream, they press the digital fish doorbell. When enough people watching the livestream all ring the doorbell at the same time, the lock operator is sent a signal to open the lock and let the fish through. And the lock operators keep records of the nicest fish photos, provide a guide to help you identify the fish you might see, and release a weekly Fish Doorbell News Report too!
The fish doorbell is live throughout spring in Utrecht, and mid-April is a popular time for fish to be queuing at the gate. Why don’t you join in and help out a fish on the other side of the world?
The livestream can be watched below on Youtube or over on the Visdeurbel website. If you’re watching on Youtube you’ll have to go over to the Visdeurbel website if you need to ring the doorbell!
If you’d like to read about fish and animal migration in different places around the world while watching the livestream, we’ve put together some books for you.
Wildlife of Aotearoa by Gavin Bishop
A wonderful guide to the wildlife of Aotearoa. Sections are arranged by habitat and the book is full of fantastic illustrations so you can get a closer look at the animals that use our rivers for migration.
Atlas of amazing migrations by Matt Sewell
From camels to zooplankton, tuna to geese, this book details some of the extreme journeys animals across the globe make, accompanied by gorgeous watercolour illustrations.
Incredible Journeys : New Zealand wildlife on the move by Ned Barraud
An exploration of many of the journeys made by animals in, and around, Aotearoa. Some you may have heard of, like the Toroa (Albatross) that spends years at a time out at sea, and some you may not have, like the Kōura (crayfish) that can walk along the seabed for hundreds of kilometres.
Amazing animal journeys by Philippa Forrester
A look at animals across the world that embark on large scale migrations in search of food, a warmer climate, a mate, or a new home.
Good jump, little carp : a Chinese myth retold in English and Chinese by Bo Jin
A story told in Chinese and English of a little carp who yearns to swim up the river and jump over the Dragon Gate to reach the outside world.
All about New Zealand's freshwater wildlife by Dave Gunson
An in-depth look at the freshwater creatures of Aotearoa, including those that live in and travel through our streams and rivers.
The Maketū whitebait by Werohia
A story of three īnanga (whitebait) friends who live in the Maketū river and their encounter with a hungry tuna who also lives in the river. Whitebait spend their first few months of life in coastal waters, before migrating inland up our streams and rivers.