ESTONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2009

Status of fish stocks in inland bodies of water
Fishing in inland bodies of water is largely driven by
fishing in Lake Peipsi and Võrtsjärv. The primary fish
species caught in Lake Peipsi is pike-perch, which is
relatively plentiful, but unfortunately, due to the poor
food supply, it grows slowly (in the absence of smelt and
vendace). For this reason, pike-perch catches have been
continuously decreased. Stocks of other major fish species,
such as bream and pike, are in good condition and
perch and roach stocks are in satisfactory condition with
their catch having risen somewhat. The abundance of
cold-water fish such as whitefish, vendace and burbot has
decreased in the last decade due to unfavourable climatic
conditions (lack of or transient ice cover, overheating of
water in summer etc).
In the last years the stocks of commercially significant
fish species in Lake Võrtsjärv have stabilized and the eel
catch has risen slightly, but no significant increase in
catches can be foreseen due to the decreased stocking
from fishing farms.
3.2.2. Fisheries catch and
fishing capacity
In 2008, catches accounted for 2,749 tonnes in inland
waters and 83,575 tonnes in the Baltic Sea. The deep-sea
catch was 14,559 tonnes, of which shrimp made up about
77% (figure 3.6). The primary species caught in inland
waters were bream, perch and pike-perch, while in the
Baltic Sea, the primary species were sprat and Baltic
herring (figure 3.7). In the oceans (north-western and
north-eastern Atlantic and around Spitzbergen) mainly
shrimp and redfish are caught, as well as Greenland halibut
and skate. Shrimp stocks have started improving in the
last three years. Redfish, skate and Greenland halibut are
also showing signs of improvement.
Being natural capital, fish stocks must be in balance
with the capital at human disposal (i.e. fishing fleet and
its fishing capacity). The excessive fishing capacity in the
latter half of the 1990s brought about such pressure on
fish stocks that the state of stocks is still impacted at the
present time. One means of regulating fishing capacity
is the register of fishing vessels, established in Estonia in
2004 and consisting of one part of the European Union’s
register of fishing vessels. The register includes all ships
that fish the oceans, Baltic Sea, coastal areas and inland
waters. Ships are divided into four segments according
to the ship’s fishing area and the overall length of the
ship.
The indicator for fishing capacity is the gross tonnage
(GT) which gives an idea as to the ship in its entirety. Gross
tonnage is not calculated in the case of fishing vessels on
inland bodies of water as the EU does not regulate fishing
in inland bodies of water. In 2004 a total of 1,332 fishing
vessels were entered into the register. As of 2006, the
total number of ships was 1,411, of which 1,046 larger or
smaller ships fished the Baltic Sea. In 2007 there were a
total of 1,049 such ships, and in 2008, 1,056. For example,
as of 1 May 2004, fishing capacity in the three segments
totalled 26,613 tonnes, which had fallen by the end of
2008 to 17,780 tonnes (figure 3.8). Fishing capacity has
declined especially in the Baltic Sea trawler segment
(4S1). As a result, the fishing pressure on Baltic herring
and sprat stocks has fallen, creating potential for the
Baltic herring stocks in the Gulf of Finland and the open
waters of the Baltic Sea to recover.
100 000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
80 000
60 000
40 000
tonnes
20 000
0
64 902
79 761
73 039
80 244
83 575
2 368
2 401
2 856
2 568
2 749
16 820
16 538
13 723
14 930
14 559
Baltic Sea
inland waters
deep-sea fishing
Figure 3.6. Fishing catches in 2004–2008. Note: Fish catches in inland waters without fish farms. Data: Statistics Estonia.
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