Overview

• Sonar surveys by local fishers found no additional wels at bathing islands, allowing authorities to lift the safety alert.
• The Ansbach prosecutor’s office, aided by the Bavarian LKA, is investigating potential violations of the Tierschutzgesetz following PETA’s complaint over the fish’s killing.
• A two-meter, 90-kg catfish injured six swimmers in June, with one fish killed and served in a local inn and another spared when its platform was removed.
• Fisheries experts attribute the defensive bites to spawning behavior under unusually low water levels that pushed nests beneath the bathing platforms.
• Landratsamt Weißenburg, Wasserwirtschaftsamt Ansbach and Fischereiverband Mittelfranken will coordinate preventive measures ahead of next year’s spawning season.