Last week the authorities of Uusimaa and the Southeast Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment banned wild sea trout fisheries in the Gulf of Finland.
The ban applies to all types of fisheries (including recreational) in the territorial waters beyond the coastal waters. A recent survey has shown that the status of the sea trout in the Baltic Sea is critically endangered, and marine conservation organisation Oceana recently urged countries in the region to combat the threat by enacting trout fishing bans.
So far, sea trout has so far been almost completely unmanaged, with the exception of some fishing bans in certain river mouths and closed season, and no TAC or quotas exist for this endangered species.
“We are happy to see that Finnish authorities are banning wild sea trout fisheries in territorial waters”, says Hanna Paulomäki, Baltic Sea project manager and marine scientist at Oceana. “However, we insist that coastal waters be included in the ban, as recreational fisheries, which take place in coastal areas and river mouths, constitute the biggest threat to this species. Furthermore, we urge other Baltic Sea countries with threatened sea trout stocks to follow the Finnish example in their own waters.”
