Last spring, the Natural Resources Institute Finland discovered a new species of fish in Virolahti in Finland, the germ-fish. It is originally from the Caspian Sea and is an alien species in Finland.
It is a small demersal fish that grows to a maximum of 11 cm. It has two tubular nostrils above the mouth. It is not harmful to humans, but its harmfulness to other species is not yet known.
As an avid fishing enthusiast, Kamppinen decided that he had to catch that fish.
– I looked on the map to see where it could be found, and the very next evening I headed to Virolahti. The first place I couldn’t find anything, but the next place I started to find them in spades. I recognised them by their big nostrils.
The fish rose with a bang
Kamppinen was equipped for the trip with a headlamp and wading pants. The fishing tool was a meter-long rod with a very small hook. There were pieces of fly maggots all over the place.
– I waded in the water and sight-fished with a headlamp. It’s called snooping. I got up a few individuals, which I recovered. I put the biggest one in the freezer. It was a good seven centimeters long.
The first specimen was found in May
He had heard from his Estonian colleagues that there are Eastern porpoises on the Estonian side and knew how to look at the fish of Virolahti with that eye. And there the King found it.
In June, the King noticed that Justus Kamppinen’s announcement about the catch had appeared on the Finnish Natural Resources Agency’s fish observations page. In addition, Kamppinen had registered the largest individual in the Finnish Fisheries Federation’s record fish register. Notifications for both are made online.
Sanna Kuningas immediately contacted Kampiinen and asked more about the fish. After that, Kamppinen received a call from the National Natural History Museum, where the fish are being checked. From there, Kamppi was asked to send the biggest specimen to them.
Fish entered in the record fish register
Justus Kamppinen put the Eastern sea urchin he had caught and frozen into a Minigrip bag. He wrapped the bag thickly in newspaper and put the package in the box. The postal package went to the Central Museum of Natural Sciences.
There, the fish was measured and found to be the largest individual caught in Finland. The length of the fish was 7.2 centimeters. Kamppinen’s fish was accepted into last year’s record fish register.
Although catching the record fish was a great thing for Kamppis, he is not completely satisfied.
– It was a little sad, because I also saw a bigger individual on the same trip to Virolahti. It would have been nice to get up. It was at least nine inches, but I’ll try to catch it this coming summer.