The new fishing rules are in accordance with the recommendations of the Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission as well as the Estonian-Russian Intergovernmental Fisheries Commission on Lakes Peipsi, Pskov (Pihkva), and Lämmijärv. In comparison of the previous rules, the new ones should be more clear and easily understandable for the fishermen. According to Mr. Enno Kobakene, Chief Specialist of the Fish Resources Department of the Ministry of the Environment, one of the most important changes from the fishermen’s viewpoint is the fact that net height is no longer regulated. "Earlier, 2.5 metres was stipulated as the maximum permissible height of nets - however, in the Gulf of Finland where the sea is deep nothing can be done with that low nets. Therefore, the working group developing the new rules found that the height of nets in the Livonian Bay (Gulf of Riga) and the Archipelago Sea can be regulated with specific stipulations while the regulation of net height across the whole sea area is not reasonable," said Mr. Kobakene. The new rules do not include list of tools used for lifting the fish out of water. Earlier two specific types of tools were listed, however, since there is a considerably higher number of different tools used for this purpose and they are of no relevance concerning the state of fish stock, this list was excluded from the rules. A few water bodies that have lost their importance for fisheries have been excluded from the new rules. For instance, the Koolimäe stream has been excluded as due to its worsened conditions has lost its importance as a spawning stream. The Kalvi stream was also excluded as its connection with the sea has been interrupted due to coastal development processes. The permissible rate of bycatch of the Baltic herring and the sprat was amended. While earlier, the bycatch of Baltic herring while fishing for sprat could be up to 50%, the fishing quota for Baltic herring has been reduced due to the worsening state of its stock - consequently, if the earlier bycatch rate would still be permissible, this would imply considerable exceeding of the Baltic herring quota. Therefore, the species composition of typical catches has been considered at the determination of the permissible rate of bycatch as well as the weight difference between the two species. At fishing for sprat in the time or place where fishing for Baltic herring is prohibited, the acceptable rate of Baltic herring bycatch is 50% of the weight of catch. The permissible bycatch rate at sprat fishing - if the Baltic fishing quota has been used up by the enterpreneur - is 15% of the total number of fish caught. Under similar conditions, the permissible rate of sprat bycatch while fishing for Baltic herring is 25% of the weight of catch. At Lake Peipsi, a few amendments regarding the organization of fishing have been included in cooperation with Russia - for example, fishing is prohibited within 200m of the inter-country control line. The descriptions of fishing tools have also been made more specific. For additional information please contact: |
