Fish
Huchen
Hucho hucho · also called Danube salmon
In a cold, fast stretch of a Danube tributary, a huchen lies at the edge of the current, a torpedo of muscle waiting for a grayling to pass.
Overview
The huchen, Hucho hucho, is an Endangered giant of the salmon family, native to the clean, cold, fast-flowing rivers of the Danube basin. Its size, its spring spawning, and its decline make it one of the most threatened freshwater predators of Europe.
A salmon that spawns in spring
Most salmon relatives spawn in autumn, but the huchen spawns in spring, digging a nest in clean gravel before its young hatch in the warming water.
Status
Endangered, declining across its range.
Huchen: common questions
Is the huchen a salmon?
It is a close relative of salmon and trout, in the same family, and is often called the Danube salmon.
How big can a huchen grow?
It is one of the largest members of the salmon family, with old fish exceeding a metre in length and weighing many kilograms.
Why is the huchen endangered?
Dams, river engineering, pollution, and fishing have fragmented and reduced its populations across the Danube basin.
Where is the huchen found?
It lives in clean, cold, fast-flowing rivers of the Danube basin in central and south-eastern Europe.