Which species will be the fish of the year in 2026?

The Hungarian Haltological Society has again announced a public vote to choose the Fish of the Year. The aim of the vote is to allow the widest possible audience to get to know our native fish. This time, interested parties can choose from three candidates and cast their votes until December 31 on the “Fish of the Year” page of the Haltological Society’s website (https://haltanitarsasag.hu/fish-of-the-year). The plum-nosed bream, or Vimba vimba by its scientific name, prefers the flowing, faster-flowing sections of larger rivers, searching for its food at the bottom of the riverbed, which mainly consists of aquatic invertebrates, but it also consumes plant food. During the mating season, the males put on a blackish nuptial dress, their bellies turn yellowish, and their fins turn red. Its population is decreasing throughout Europe as fast-flowing habitats disappear. The bream resembles the plum-nosed bream, but its mouth is not U-shaped, but almost straight, and its lower lip is covered with sharp horn scales, which suggests a special diet. Uniquely among our domestic fish, it mainly consumes a live coating consisting of algae, which it scrapes off stones and other underwater objects with the help of its chisel-like lower lip. The gravelly section of rivers that descend from the mountains to the plains is named the bream zone after this species. In our country, this level includes the section of the Upper Tisza River above the Tiszacsécse. The sturgeon is a large-growing representative of the ancient-looking sturgeon. As a migratory fish living in the sea, it only visited rivers during the breeding season, but the construction of the Vaskapu posed an insurmountable obstacle for it. A single specimen is rarely found in our large rivers, but these probably come from plantations. Its protection serves the establishment of the plantation specimens. The Hungarian Haltani Society encourages all interested parties to vote and promote the candidate they like. The current status of the election can be viewed at any time on the society’s website after casting their vote.

MTI