Here I have posted a map to show where Gamle Nygårdsbro is in Bergen, and also to show the tributary, Møllendalselven, that runs into the fjord / lake from the Svartediket reservoir.
It wasn't until my recent sightings of what appear to be some kind of trout - or perhaps Char - that I began thinking about this as an important relative of Gamle Nygårdsbro and it's environment. It so happens that I work right next to Møllendalselven, so I have made many interesting observations there too.
When I started working there in the summer of 2009, there were usually small trout hanging out in a pool under the bridge by my work place. Since the construction of new student apartments began on the opposite bank of the river, however, that pool has been deserted - although I have seen the local heron catch a trout, and there are still very small "minnows" to be seen regularly in the river. Not only have the construction company shovelled unwanted rubble into the river (they stopped when I came out with a video camera) but they have various drains pumping into it. Occasionally the water gets very cloudy, which may be the result of drainage from the construction site or perhaps something further up stream.
If the fish that I have seen from Gamle Nygårdsbro are trout or char, then I expect that they spawn up the river, although "river" feels like a bit of an overstatement, as it's so shallow for most of the summer that it could almost be called a stream. It is easy to imagine that spawning will be harder during the ongoing construction project, but hopefully not bad enough to have long term consequences??
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| Location of Gamle Nygårdsbro and Møllendalselven |
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| Cloudy water in Møllendalselven (Møllendals River) 24/05/12, 17:31 |
