How roe-mantic! Help aquatic creatures in Netherlands find their mate with this 'fish doorbell'

The doorbell notifies the lock keeper to open the underwater gates. Pic/Visdeurbel

The birds do it, the bees do it, gotta let the fish do it too! In the Netherlands, it's spring - that time of the year when fish swim upstream through the country's waterways in search of a place to mate and spawn.

The water level and traffic in these canals is managed with sea locks that have to be opened manually. But springtime is also when ship traffic is at a low, which means fish often end up wasting time waiting for the lock to be opened, during which time they are also exposed to predators.

In the city of Utrecht, an underwater camera was set up - the first of its kind - to help with this problem. The fish cam streams directly to website that can be watched by anyone across the world. If you spot any fish waiting, you can click on a ‘digital doorbell' to inform the lock keeper to let them through.

The breeding season goes on through till May-end, and the species commonly spotted are pike, perch, eel, white and freshwater bream, and even the occasional catfish - no fraudulent dates though!

We spotted a couple of finned friends within a couple of minutes. Pic/Debjani Paul

Don't be koi; next time you're looking for a free, calming activity, help some fish get frisky.

visdeurbel.nl/en/