A huge dead fish was photographed floating in the Sava Lake at Ada Ciganlija yesterday, and visitors were both shocked and scared by the sight in the water.
The animal was dubbed the “Belgrade shark,” but Aleksandar Hegediš reveals that it’s not a catfish, as many had assumed, but rather a silver carp, which seriously degrades water quality, which is why its death does not sadden him.
Aleksandar Hegediš is responsible for the flora and fauna in the lake at Ada Ciganlija. He explained everything about the “Belgrade shark” to “Blic” and revealed the detrimental effects of its presence in the Sava Lake’s water. The silver carp seen yesterday at the bathing area is more than 5 years old, which is how long the problem with this species has persisted in Belgrade’s lake.
“It seems to me that in 2018, there was a poorly supervised fish stocking of Ada, in spring when it shouldn’t be done, and since then, we’ve had a large number of silver carp that negatively affect the water quality in the lake. They degrade water quality because their waste excessively contaminates the water with bacteria. The fish seen yesterday died from spring viremia, a disease that most commonly attacks carp. Silver carp is a type of carp, it has nothing to do with catfish. They grow up to over two meters and often weigh over 60 kilograms,” our interlocutor explains.
Hegediš also explained that spring viremia was an “introduced” disease to Ada due to inadequate fish stocking of Ada Ciganlija. “That disease was introduced when they decided to stock Ada in spring, which is never done due to the spread of infections like this one. Since 2018, we have been trying to resolve the consequences of that bad decision that was made then,” Aleksandar said.
He explained why the carcass of a meter-and-a-half-long fish was floating in the city’s bathing area.
“It’s an infected fish that died from a disease. This happens when there’s a sudden rise in water temperature. This fish is not dangerous to humans, its death cannot harm a person; the only unpleasantness people might experience is the smell that those who saw it yesterday might have felt. Every year, we have several huge dead specimens. These are cold-blooded animals and, apart from the bacterial waste in the water whose quality they degrade, they have no harmful effect on humans,” he pointed out.
Source: Blic Photo: Private