Herki Tuus, the chief specialist with the ministry’s Fish Resources Department, describes the results: “One of the things we discovered was that what bothers a great deal of respondents is the lack of access to waterways, particularly in cases where shorelines have been closed to the public illegally, and that’s something we need to deal with.” Fishermen are also unhappy about the state of the country’s waterways, the lack of fish, fishing ‘piracy’, legislation and dams and other structures obstructing fish migration. “Some also said that what was getting in the way of their hobby was their own laziness, their work, their wives, a lack of money, the weather, the fact that there are too many other fishermen, the fact that their fishing buddies are drunks, dogs, beavers...you name it!” Tuus added. “Having said that, we did get good feedback about the simplicity of obtaining and paying for fishing licences.” The most commonly caught fish in Estonia are perch, pike, roach, bream, carp, tench and river trout. Pike, perch and roach as species are widespread in fresh water in Estonia, which is why they form the majority of recreational fishermen’s catches from such waterways and bodies of water. However, the responses to the survey showed that the fishermen would prefer to be catching salmon and other more valuable species such as pike perch and eel. Asked which species they thought catch sizes should be restricted for, the respondents nominated pike, salmon, pike perch, bream and tench, recommending that the limit be set at five adult males. It was also proposed that the restriction on perch be measured in kilograms. “Weight restrictions form one of the main aspects of the recreational fishing development plan and will be given a lot of consideration,” Tuus revealed. “We won’t be rushing into any decisions.” There was close to 100% consensus among the respondents that the most appropriate methods of recreational fishing are spinning, troll, pulling, fly hook, bottom line, trimmer and hand line. The use of gill nets was not generally recommended, especially in small lakes and rivers. The majority of respondents felt that the fee charged for the right to fish recreationally was just right, while some even thought that it was too low. A significant number of fishermen would agree to pay many times more if they knew what was being done for fish reserves, with amounts as high as 200, 300 or even 500 kroons per year suggested. “We found out that almost half of those who responded spend more than 2000 kroons on their hobby each year,” Tuus explained, “which means that around 50,000 recreational fishermen are investing something like 117 million kroons in the sport annually.” According to bank payment records, the state received around 4.5 million kroons from fees for recreational fishing rights in 2007 and a further 2.1 million kroons from fees for fishing rights with fishing cards. The Ministry of the Environment was assisted in conducting the survey by the online fishing portals kalale.ee and striborg.ee and the magazine Kalastaja. Almost 1500 people took part, which is a remarkably large sample compared to other similar surveys carried out in the country. The responses from the fishermen will be of help in the drafting of the recreational fishing development plan, which the Ministry of the Environment has begun, and the aim of which is to determine the directions to take in recreational fishing between 2009 and 2013. As many clubs and organisations representing recreational fishermen as possible are being included in the production of the development plan. Also involved in its production are representatives from the State Nature Conservation Centre, county environmental services, the Environmental Inspectorate, the Ministry of Agriculture and scientific establishments studying fish resources. The development plan is due for completion by the beginning of 2009. For further information please contact: (5.06.2008) |
