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Fish in Germany

Germany's waters

Which fish live in Germany's rivers and lakes?

Explore rivers, lakes and canals: the fish expected in each one, how threatened they are on Germany's Red List, and where to find the fishing rules.

27
Waters
67
Species
25
Threatened
16
Federal states
Baden-Württemberg Bavaria Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Lower Saxony North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia Donau Elbe Oder Rhein Weser Ems Finowkanal Havel Inn Isar Main Main-Donau-Kanal Mittellandkanal Mosel Neckar Oder-Havel-Kanal Saale Spree Ammersee Bodensee Chiemsee Müritz Scharmützelsee Schwielochsee Senftenberger See Starnberger See Steinhuder Meer Donau Elbe Oder Rhein Weser

Map: Natural Earth (public domain); © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)

Plan your fishing day

Which closed seasons apply today, what opens soon, and live water level and weather at your spots.

Rivers, lakes and canals

Browse all waters

Rivers · 14

Lakes · 9

Canals · 4

Fishing rules by federal state

All federal states

Closed seasons, minimum sizes and licences differ from state to state.

Closed seasons Fishing licence

Threatened in Germany

All 25 threatened species

Species in Red List categories 0–3, G and R. Salmon, shad and sea lamprey have nearly vanished from German rivers; sturgeon are already gone.

Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic Salmon

Critically endangered
Allis Shad

Allis Shad

Critically endangered
Sea Lamprey

Sea Lamprey

Critically endangered
Razor Fish (Sichel)

Razor Fish (Sichel)

Critically endangered
European Eel

European Eel

Endangered
Grayling

Grayling

Endangered
Twaite Shad

Twaite Shad

Endangered
River Lamprey

River Lamprey

Endangered

Official Red List data

Threat categories come from the German Red Lists (BfN / Rote-Liste-Zentrum: freshwater 2023, marine 2025), linked to each species' source page.

Expected, not observed

Which species live in which water is modelled from the water's fish zones (trout, grayling, barbel or bream zone, estuary, kind of lake), habitat type and the federal states a species occurs in, and checked against GBIF observation records.

Fishing rules

Each federal state regulates fishing itself. We link the official laws and ordinances — always check them before you fish.