The arrival of the otter at the Tordera River
The project was firstly aimed at the reintroduction of the otter according to the Guidelines for Re-Introductions(IUCN). Following the recommendations of Jordi Ruiz-Olmo, who at that time was the director-general for the Environment in the Catalan Government, among other experts, our goals were redefined, as it seemed that the otter was already there (even if its presence was almost unnoticeable and very limited) or it had been there just before starting the project. In this scenario, the otter itself would repopulate the river when it had the right conditions. That’s why it was necessary to study the state of the river, its water quality, its flow, the amount of fish living there, the quality of the riparian forest, etc., in order to assess the suitability of the Tordera river as a permanent settlement for the otter. Aiming to ascertain whether a reintroduction would be necessary, we studied the causes leading to the retreat of the otter from the studied area, the state of this aquatic mammal in Catalonia, the results of its reintroduction into the Muga and Fluvià rivers and its recovery in other inland waterways.
