2007 is a busy year for Põlula Fish Farm: they have already populated the rivers of northern Estonia with thousands of young salmon and sea trout, and the re-homing scheme for year-old trout lies ahead of them. Ene Saadre, deputy director of Põlula Fish Farm, explains what they have done so far this year to restore the country’s fish stocks: “During the second half of April and the beginning of May we released 51,000 two-year old and 89,000 year-old salmon into rivers around northern Estonia, as well as 6700 two-year old sea trout. We’ll be continuing this work with the release of year-old trout in the near future.” Põlula started farming young fish and releasing them into the wild in 1997. “By restocking, we’re trying to increase the numbers of fish in rivers where once thriving populations have been decimated by human activity,” Saadre says. “The rivers we select for restocking are recommended by scientists from the Estonian Marine Institute.” The quality of the water in Estonia’s rivers has improved in recent years, and this is one of the requirements for reproductive fish populations beginning to form again independently. According to studies, the genetic quality of salmon from the Kunda and Keila Rivers remains among the best preserved in the Baltic Sea region. However, as fish populations are unable to sustain themselves alone, it has been Põlula Fish Farm that has kept up and increased their numbers to this point. Salmon and sea trout are usually released into rivers at the age of one or two. The majority of salmon in this age bracket that are released into the rivers will soon head out to sea in search of food – a pilgrimage that lasts between one and four years. The arrival of sexual maturity sees the fish make an autumn return to the rivers in which they were born or released to breed. Although some do end up in the wrong waters, the majority will recognise their home river thanks to their unique ability to recall the way it smells. 5800 of the fish released so far this year were specially marked with a tag which includes a number, a return address and instructions. “Every year the fish farm organises a seminar for fishermen on recognising these tags, so that they know to return them to us after they catch our fish,” Saadre explains. “The tags help us to collect data about the journeys the fish take.” Põlula Fish Farm, which comes under the control of the Ministry of the Environment, is the only national restocking farm in Estonia. Its main task is the raising of cold-water fish (primarily young of the salmon family) for the restoration of fish stocks in northern Estonian waters. For further information please contact: Agnes Jürgens |
