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• Results of a questionnaire

Recreational fisheries in the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea

Outi Heikinheimo, Antti Lappalainen and Jens Olsson

HELCOM FISH meeting Warsaw 15 April 2015

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Questionnaire to the participants of Fish Pro II

Questions asked:•Monitoring and surveys on recreational fisheries?•Existing catch and effort data, magnitude of catches compared to commercial fisheries•Licenses •Gear types allowed•Target species•Management measures – catch quotas, effort restrictions, size limits for fish, technical measures such as minimum mesh sizes•Significant changes in the recreational fishery or other comments

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Monitoring and available data

• Surveys on a regular basis in Denmark (annually), Sweden (annually), Finland incuding Åland (every two years)

• In Latvia and Estonia subsistence fishery is monitoried, but reporting is often ignored.

• In Poland, Germany and Estonia the numbers of fishing licenses are monitored: Catch data available from specific areas such as salmon rivers in Estonia and cod in Germany

• In Poland the new legislation will imply reporting of catches, effort, area etc.

• Latvia and Lithuania: no monitoring of recreational fishing in the Baltic Sea (rod fishing)

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Recreational catch and effort vs. commercial fishery

• Significance of recreational fisheries is not known in many countries due to lack of monitoring

• In Sweden: Recreational catches even 65-95% of total catches (perch, pike, pikeperch, sea trout, whitefish), salmon 20%.

• Finland: recreational perch, pike and roach catches multifold compared to the commercial catches, sea trout double; whitefish and pikeperch about on the same level as commercial catches

• Denmark: Eel roughly 20% of the total catches, cod less than 5%

• Germany: The recreational cod catch is in the same range as the commercial catch

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Licenses

• Angling without reel is free in Sweden, Finland and Estonia.

• For other gear types licenses and/or permits from water owner are needed, often for a restricted number of gear units

• In Germany one week’s education needed to get the license for angling

• In Poland and Estonia a license is needed.

• Finland: for other fishing than angling or ice fishing with rod (”pilkki”) general fishing license is needed (ages 18-65)– For rod fishing with reel regional fishing licences or permits from

water owner– Other gear types (gill nets, fyke nets etc.) permits from water

owners– The new fishing law will cause some changes to this

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Gear types

• In most countries also passive gears such as gillnets and fyke nets, longlines allowed for recreational fishers:– Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia (fishing for

own consumption)• In Poland and Lithuania only angling allowed• In Germany only “hobby fishermen” (having a former job in

fishery) are allowed to use passive gears.

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Target fish species

• Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia:– Perch, pike, pikeperch, whitefish, sea trout, salmon,

bream, Baltic herring, flounder etc.

• Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Germany– Sea trout, garfish (Belone belone), cod, salmon, flatfish

species, in Denmark eel is caught with fykenets– In river mouths also freshwater species

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Management measures in recreational fisheries

• Catch quotas in some countries:– Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany reported daily

quotas for e.g. sea trout, salmon, pike, perch and flounder– In Finland quotas are discussed for predator species in

connection of the new fishing law.

• Minimum size limits and effort restrictions are commonly applied, e.g. sea trout, salmon, grayling, pikeperch, pike, in some countries also perch, flounder; Åland bream and whitefish.

• In Sweden also maximum length for pike (allowed catch size 40-75 cm)

• Maximum lengths are discussed in Finland too.

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Other restrictions

• Various seasonal or areal restrictions, mainly targeted to protect the spawning areas or spawning migrations of fish

• Limitations to gillnet mesh sizes

• Sweden: Salmon with intact adipose fin have to be released. The same in Finland for sea trout, Gulf of Finland, public water area (also higher minimum size than elsewhere)

• In Finland the water owners can set different (more strict) regulations

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Recent changes in recreational fishing

• Sweden and Finland:– Fishing with passive gear less popular than before– Rod fishing has become more effective and is often

species-specific– Echosounding is used by recreational fishermen– Fishing tourism from inland areas to the coast is common

in Finland– Fishermen from other countries?

• Lithuania: increase in the recreational fishing for cod• Poland: also increased sprot fishing in the sea area

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Conclusions

• Rather poor monitoring of recreational fisheries

• Significant outtake of fish from recreational fisheries in many countries (where it is known!)

• In some countries few regulations, in som more strict regulations. How well are the regulations followed?

• In some countries only angling allowed. In some also passive gears as gillnets and longlines.

• Same target species as the commercial fishery.

• There seems to be a general increase in recreational fisheries

• Recreational fisheries should be monitored and surveyed!!

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Kiitos!

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© Luonnonvarakeskus13 18.04.23Teppo Tutkija