Estonia and Russia allocate fish resources of transboundary lakes

This week, Estonia and Russia discuss the fishing opportunities of various fish species in lakes Peipsi, Lämmijärv and Pskov. The total fishing quota of the transboundary lakes in this year was 6,802 tons, including 2,926 tons allocated for Estonia. Estonian and Russian allocations are equal in lakes Peipsi and Lämmijärv, while Lake Pskov is entirely in the Russian fishing zone, which is the reason behind Russia’s larger total quota. “The exact allocation of next year’s fishing quotas will be clear by the end of the week but we can already say that the quota of European whitefish can be expected to decrease. The decisions will be based on the recommendations of scientists of both countries," said Marku Lamp, Deputy Secretary General, head of the Estonian delegation. Generally, fish resources are in a relatively good state in Estonia’s larger lakes. The main commercial species, such as perch, pikeperch and pike, remain in a steady average state, while some fluctuations are observed between bream generations. “The largest concerns are associated with coldwater fish species, such as Peipsi smelt, European whitefish and smelt. The populations of these species have decreased consistently over recent years due to natural conditions, especially the size of predatory fish populations and presence of an ice cover,” Lamp said.