The one and only. The marble trout.

As much as the Julian Alps are a wild place from which originates one of the most beautiful rivers, so also is the life that characterises the Soča River equally wild. This is particularly true of the endemic species of trout - the marble trout or Salmo trutta marmoratus.

The mountainous karst plateau of the Julian Alps and the wet winds that blow across the valley are the reason for the heavy rainfall in the area. When the snow begins to melt in Spring, the mountains soak up water like kitchen towels. Through numerous gorges and chasms, all that is being held in their bowels violently breaks out onto the plains. The Soča River also rushes wildly from its source above the Zadnja Trenta valley.

Then, after it rushes over waterfalls and gorges that unsuccessfully attempt to calm it down, it is drawn more widely into the valley and we come to a place where in early spring we see the sun first emerge for a few minutes. At the intersection of two valleys, where the river pays homage to everything and everyone that has survived the long, hard winter. Here begins the life of our heroine the marble trout.

Soška postrv

As long as the temperature remains below 0 degrees Celsius, then the water level is low and there is no large quantity of water that would rearrange the riverbed, which will happen quite soon.

In February, six weeks after spawning, the eggs hatch. The cruel reality then is that they are easy prey for various larvae and other aquatic life. Only a few of the fish survive the first spring, perhaps about one out of every hundred.

If a marble trout does happen to survive this period, it will develop into a nocturnal hunter that can grow to 120 cm in length and weigh over 20 kilograms. Then again the roles of the river change and the story starts all over again.

Some time ago, it had appeared that this species had disappeared due to its mixing with other species. About fifty years ago, however, they were re-discovered in remote and difficult to reach transitional river pools. The opportunities that this rediscovery presented were not to be missed. That determination, perseverance and dedication to preserving the species is now paying off. Slowly but surely, man and nature have adopted the species back and again allowed it to swim freely throughout its kingdom.