“Research shows that the roach stocks are high and can be caught in a greater amount,” Ain Soome, Head of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of the Environment said. “Pre-spawning migration of roach starts in March and April, and spawning ends in May. Amendment to the regulation enables the beginning of recreational fishing with entangling nets on lakes Peipus, Pskov and Lämmijärv 14 days earlier than before, that is, from 1 March; fishing is allowed until 5 May,” Soome specified. The number of entangling nets allowed on additional recreational fishing lasting from 1 March to 14 March on lakes Peipus, Pskov or Lämmijärv in Ida-Viru County is 174, in Jõgeva county 121, in Põlva County 228, in Tartu County 249 and Piirisaare, with permanent settlement 100. The fee for fishing with one entangling net during that period is EUR 3, for permanent residents of Piirissaare, EUR 1.5. Fishing cards can be applied for from 9.00 on 28 February, via the Internet, from the fisheries information system (http://kala.envir.ee) with the help of an ID-card, and from the Jõhvi office of the Viru region of the Environmental Board; Tartu office of the Jõgeva–Tartu region and Räpina office of the Põlva–Valga–Võru region. Fishing cards for Piirissaare Island are issued by the Piirissaare Rural Municipality Government. “Increasing of the fishing possibilities was also agreed with the Russian Federation representatives at the 31st session of the Intergovernmental Estonian-Russian Fisheries Commission last November,” Soome noted. In addition to that, amendment to the regulation “Temporary fishing restrictions, fishing right fee, limit of fishing cards for recreational fishing in 2011” will prescribe catch limitations to recreational fishing of salmon and sea trout with the use of spinning and fly hooks on the rivers of Purtse, Selja, Valgejõe, Pirita and Vääna. “We have agreed with recreational fishermen that the month-long fishing prohibition in the autumn, during spawning, will last on the aforementioned rivers from October 15 to November 15, to avoid the catching of salmon and sea trout from spawning nests,” Soome said. Another important restriction in catching salmon and sea trout is related to the size of allowed trolls and hooks. The size of the allowed troll must be less than 18 cm. As to the size of the hooks used on a troll, the distance between the spike and shank may not exceed 12 mm. The total daily limit for salmon and sea trout will be two fish (except for fishing on the rivers of Narva and Jägala). |
