Nearly 9,600 fish rescued from drought-hit rivers in the Jura

Nearly 9,600 fish were moved to safer stretches of water as drought affected rivers across the canton of Jura this summer. Rescue fishing covered around 16 kilometres of waterways, with the fish relocated to suitable sections of the main watercourse within the same catchment area.

The Jura Government said some operations began quickly after reports of fish deaths. The scale of the work also grew compared with previous years. In a response to a question from MP Sonia Burri-Schmassmann, the cantonal executive described a summer in which rescuers had to act in several places as conditions deteriorated.

The tally included about 6,500 trout, alongside other fish. The figures show the volume of the operation and the reach of the rivers involved. For the canton, the immediate task was to move fish from affected stretches into suitable water elsewhere in the same river system.

About 6,500 trout accounted for most of the named rescue tally. Teams caught the fish and moved them to suitable sections of the main watercourse in the same catchment area, keeping the relocation within the river system.

The Jura Government said rescue fishing had taken place in previous years, but this summer’s operations were significantly larger. Some were launched at short notice after reports of animal deaths. That urgency shaped the response across the affected waterways, where rescue crews had to act as drought conditions put fish at risk.

The work covered around 16 kilometres of rivers. The total of nearly 9,600 fish includes the trout, as well as other species. Together, the numbers describe a large field operation carried out across multiple stretches of water, rather than a single intervention at one site. The canton’s account places rapid response and relocation at the centre of this summer’s effort.

The rescue operation carried an estimated price tag of CHF 15,000. Around 85% of that cost came from in-house services, according to the Jura Government. The canton said the bill would have been considerably higher without voluntary help from members of local fishing societies.

Those volunteers supported operations that involved catching and relocating fish across around 16 kilometres of waterways. Their participation helped the canton carry out work that expanded significantly this year, after similar rescue fishing had been undertaken in earlier years.

The cost estimate gives the operation a practical dimension alongside its wildlife purpose: crews, equipment and coordination had to be mobilised quickly in several cases. The government’s response credited both cantonal resources and fishing-society volunteers in making the work possible. The estimated total covered the rescue operations described by the canton, with in-house services forming the largest share.