Under discussion at the sitting of the Government were the fishing possibilities of commercial fishermen along Estonia’s coastal waters, on Lake Peipus, Lake Lämmi and Lake Pskov, and other internal water bodies, with a decision made on the amount of fishing gear allowed based on the designated areas. Today’s decision does not impact the general permitted catch on Lake Peipus, Lake Lämmi and Lake Pskov. That will be decided in November with the agreement between Estonia and Russia. Also not reflected here is Baltic Sea herring and sprat quotas, in which Estonia achieved its set objective at the negotiations in Luxembourg, and for the first time in several years our catch on the Baltic Sea will increase. “In the case of fishing possibilities, the status of our fish resources must seriously be taken into consideration, so that the number of fish caught does not exceed the number permitted by the stocks. Taking into consideration the recommendations of scientists, then next year the general catch in internal water bodies and the coastal region will not increase and temporary catch limitations are planned for the Väinameri, Gulf of Riga as well as Lake Peipus, in order to protect fish,” explained Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus-Rosimannus. The quotas for other types of fishing gear will remain the same. An exception is the reduction in the number of eel pots for catching eels from coastal waters, which will once again decline by 15 per cent. Baltic Sea eel resources are declining and in order for their population numbers to recover the number caught must be reduced. In accordance with the European Union's eel management plan, the use of eel pots has been reduced over the past five years and Estonia has fulfilled its obligation for 2013 to reduce special eel catching equipment by 50 per cent in comparison with 2007. In general, the fishing right fees for internal water bodies will remain the same as this year. The only exception is the fishing right fee for eel fishing gear, which in 2013 will increase slightly, but is nearly three times lower than it was in 2011. Regarding Lake Peipus, Lake Lämmi and Lake Pskov, a slightly higher fee has been established for some fishing gear as a result of the very good catches in 2011. Sums received from fishing right fees are generally used to cover, via the Environmental Investment Centre, for covering expenditures on projects involving fish resources, artificial fish breeding and supervision over fishing. |
