On August 4, 2023, the Upper Savinja Valley area was hit by the worst flood in the history of our homeland. In addition to the destroyed and damaged homes, infrastructure and banks of our waters, and the psychological wounds to the population of this area, the disaster also completely decimated the aquatic life in the Upper Savinja Fishing District, which we manage in the Ljubno ob Savinji Fishing Family.

The Savinja River in this part is predominantly populated by brown trout and grayling and other smaller companion species, and the density of aquatic life per hectare of water surface reached record values ??ever recorded by ichthyological research institutions before the aforementioned flood.

The leadership of our fishing family, with 100% support from the membership, as the only fishing family in Slovenia with such a measure, immediately adopted a decision to ban all fishing until further notice, as it would be completely inhumane and unethical to catch already severely affected fish, each specimen of which is of exceptional importance for the regrowth of their populations.

The richness of the fish life, which attracted around 3,000 guests from all over the world to visit our area annually, was not a given, but the result of the hard work of our members, the fish guard service, very strict fishing rules, which were severely limited daily, and appropriate habitats as a result of excellent cooperation in the most sustainable management of the waters among all stakeholders, both among us and local communities, the Water Directorate of the Republic of Slovenia - Savinja Area Sector, numerous companies and of course the concessionaire of the public water management service Nivo Eko d.o.o., which kindly took over the general sponsorship of our project "Let's revive the Savinja, be a godfather to your fish".

The aforementioned cooperation between all stakeholders was further strengthened after the flood, and despite the exceptional damage to the banks of the rivers and the infrastructure along the banks, we have and will continue to manage to preserve a suitable living environment of aquatic and riparian habitats for both fish and other aquatic and riparian animals. For the pride of the present and for the future of our future generations.

In the coming period, we, as fisheries management practitioners, want to do everything in our power to preserve aquatic habitats, as this is the foundation if we as fishermen want an abundance of life in the waters in the future and if all nature lovers want to continue to admire our beautiful waters. Without habitat preservation, our work is meaningless. To this end, we are extremely actively and, above all, constructively involved both in the preparation of strategic documents that regulate interventions in the waters, as well as operationally in the field by cooperating with all stakeholders.

Given the foundations laid for a suitable living environment for aquatic and riparian animals and the period of one year in which aquatic insects have already partially restored a certain lower part of the ecosystem's food chain, the time has come when we can and must consider the earliest possible revival of the Savinja River and its tributaries, at least in the sections where interventions will no longer be carried out. In previous years, our fishing family has allocated the vast majority of funds obtained from the sale of fishing permits to investing in indigenous fish species, especially grayling and brown trout. Grayling, which, incidentally, has been a completely protected fish species in our area with no permitted catch since 2012, was purchased in the age categories of one and two-year-old juveniles from the Slovenian Fisheries Institute and the Bled Fishing Family, while we bred brown trout ourselves in our two fish farms and were also able to boast the highest proportion of genetically pure native Danube brown trout in Slovenia. Our knowledge, will and diligence of our members, as well as the surviving specimens, allow us to breed brown trout in all age categories ourselves in the future, provided that funds are provided to cover the costs, while we will be forced to purchase juvenile grayling.

The price of a one-year-old brown trout fry between 9 and 12 cm in length is around €0.8,
a two-year-old between 21 and 25 cm in length is around €2 per piece including VAT.

The price of a one-year-old grayling in the 9-12 cm size range is around €1.1,
a two-year-old in the 21-25 cm size range is around €2.6 per piece including VAT.

To revive the Savinja in the Upper Savinja Fishing District with the aim of restoring the state of fish populations before the catastrophic flood within a timeframe of 5 years, for the next three years, around 30-40,000 one-year-old fry and 5,000 two-year-old brown trout and between 20,000 and 30,000 one-year-old and 5,000 two-year-old grayling should be released into the waters annually, with a complete fishing ban still in effect until at least 2025. Releasing fry of the smallest possible size is the most appropriate from an ecological point of view in the long term, as they are the ones who most easily adapt to natural conditions in the fight against natural enemies and conditions within the framework of natural selection and become sexually mature within three years, and then naturally provide for their offspring.

With the desire to return the Savinja to the forefront of the richest rivers in Slovenia, Europe and even the world with fish, the fishermen of Ljubno have joined the project "Let's revive the Savinja, be a godfather to your fish". As part of this, we are calling on everyone, both individuals and companies or institutions, to voluntarily donate funds according to their capabilities and judgment, which will be used exclusively for the stated goal. In 2025, the Ljubno ob Savinji Fishing Family celebrates 70 years of its existence. One of the key events in celebrating this anniversary will be the release of grayling and brown trout fry into the Savinja. All donors who will be able to attend the event will be informed about the time and locations of the event, and the fry will be released into the Savinja by first-grade children from the Ljubno ob Savinji and Luče Elementary Schools as a symbol of a common future and connection with the natural environment and waters.

We emphasize that every euro collected counts. Every euro or two euros will enable the purchase of one juvenile grayling. Based on the amount collected in 2024, we will plan the release of a certain number of juveniles in the annual fisheries management plan, as this is the annual legal basis for our work.

For the sake of transparency, you can transfer your valued contribution exclusively via bank transfer as follows from the data.

We sincerely thank you for your contribution to the future of the Savinja River and its tributaries and wish you all the best. We invite you to follow the progress of the project itself and the activities of our fishing family on our website https://rd-ljubno.si and Facebook page https://facebook.com/rdljubno.

With respect