The River Jadro

The River Jadro is about five kilometres long, emptying into the Adriatic Sea near the ancient Roman town of Solin (formerly know as Salona) near Split.

The lower and middle part of the river is practically destroyed due to an operating cement factory and severe river bank regulation. In contrast, the upper part of the river is well preserved and offers suitable habitat for a relatively large population of softmouth trout.

Our field trip to the River Jadro organized by our Croatian colleagues was performed in 2003. Contrary to the situation in the River Krka, electro-fishing for softmouth trout in the River Jadro was much easier and more successful since fish were hiding in the grass and beneath rocks, where they could be easily reached with the anode of our electro-fishing apparatus. This unexpected characteristic that is otherwise more typical for brown trout, along with some morphological resemblance with brown trout, raised some doubts concerning evolutionary origin and taxonomic identity of the Jadro softmouth trout.