Night fishing for catfish

The evening/night fishing sessions for wels catfish in the Lake Grande of Avigliana will start on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 8 PM. From June to October, twice a month, a group of amateur fishermen will be engaged in selective fishing for the control of Silurus glanis, the invasive alien species that has been introduced into the freshwater basins of the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park, altering its ecological balance. This activity is part of the Life Predator Project, which aims to contain the spread of the large aquatic predator in the lakes of southern Europe.
After a study and monitoring phase of the wels catfish to quantify its presence and understand its adaptation methods to the Avigliana Lakes environment, the objective is to move to the operational phase of removal of individuals to physically reduce their numbers, through professional work entrusted to a team of specialists, without forgetting the amateur fishermen that the Park Authority has decided to involve as stakeholders.
After a careful selection of requests, a training activity was conducted to explain to participants the nature and structure of the project, the biology of the catfish, capture techniques, and safety information. At the same time, it was necessary to intervene at the bureaucratic level to obtain the authorization for night fishing by the Metropolitan City and to agree with the Municipality of Avigliana on the areas to carry out the activity and the access methods. The Silurus glanis is, in fact, a species particularly active at dusk and in the early hours of the night thanks to its barbels, which allow it to detect its prey even in the dark. The catfish caught will be kept by those who captured them for food purposes, while all fish of other species will be immediately released.

• the stretch between Baia Grande and the first floating footbridge;
• the stretch between the parking lot on Corso Laghi and the diving club;
• the stretch between the diving club and the nautical club.

• June 14 and 28
• July 12 and 26
• August 9 and 23
• September 6 and 20
• October 4 and 18