The populations of commercially important species such as cod and salmon are declining due to overexploitation and environmental degradation. Current levels of fishing for the most commercially important species are unsustainable.
Fish stocks are becoming dangerously low
Total fish catches have increased tenfold since the early 20th century as a result of more effective open sea fishing, decreased predation by seals and increased fish production due to eutrophication. Eutrophication is a double-edged sword, however, as it also has negative impacts, particularly in spawning areas, leading to reductions in the reproductive success of many fish species. Another man-made problem affecting natural reproduction is the widespread damming of the spawning rivers of migratory fish species like salmon, migratory whitefish and brown trout, whose natural populations have suffered greatly.
About 90% of the total fish catch in the Baltic consists of herring, sprat and cod. Even though salmon only accounts for about 1% of the total catch by weight, it is still a commercially important species.
A lack of oxygen in established spawning areas combined with overfishing has drastically reduced cod catches in the Baltic Sea since the mid 1980s (Figure 38). In 1992, the spawning stock biomass of cod in the Baltic reached a record low. Particularly in the eastern Baltic, cod stocks are seriously overexploited and their numbers are below safe biological limits.
The spawning stock biomass of herring has been decreasing steadily (Figure 39), due to the unfavorable changes induced by falling salinity levels, in the zooplankton communities the herring feed on. The spawning stock biomasses of herring in the Central Baltic are currently low, whereas in the Bothnian Sea and the Gulf of Riga stocks have been thriving.
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Fixing fishing conditions for 2004
Over-exploitation is common despite attempts by the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission( IBSFC) to regulate offshore fishing. Annual international assessments of stock sizes and exploitation levels are currently carried out through the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for the IBSFC.
In its 29th Annual Session held 29 September – 3 October 2003, Vilnius, Lithuania, the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission fixed fishing conditions for herring, sprat, cod and salmon in the Baltic for 2004.
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Principal catch quotas in the Baltic Sea
(in tonnes, resp. units of salmon)
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Bye-bye by-catches!
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HELCOM and fishing
Efforts made by HELCOM and the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC) to protect and restore wild salmon populations have started to bear fruit. Estimates indicate that wild salmon production increased over the period 1995-2001 by one million individuals, raising the annual yield of juvenile wild salmon from 0.3 milllion to over 1.3 million. However, yields of juvenile wild salmon in certain rivers are sill alarmingly low, particularly in smaller forest rivers around the Bothnian Bay and Estonia.
The Baltic sturgeon is presumed to have virtually disappeared from the waters of the Baltic Sea, so HELCOM has launched a restoration project to save it from extinction.
Contacts
Chairman of HELCOM HABITAT
Jan Ekebom
Metsähallitus
P.O. Box 94
FIN-01301 Vantaa
Finland
Tel: +358 0205644457
Fax: +358 0205644350
HELCOM Secretariat
Professional Secretary
Mr. Juha-Markku Leppänen
Tel: +358 9 6220 2227