Administrative practices supporting sustainability – recreational fishers’ view to the management of brown trout and landlocked salmon stocks and fishing regulation in Finnish Lake District.

Abstract

Recreational fishing is very popular and regionally extensive in Finland. As a multi-species fishery with a wide range of techniques, the sustainability of fishing of several species is questionable. Thus, fishing prevents recovery of endangered brown trout and critically endangered landlocked Atlantic salmon. 

The management of inland waters in Finland combines central and regional management, with participation of different fisher-groups arranged in principle. In practice, decision-making is biased towards local active landowners. So far, there has been little information on the management preferences of the fishers. This study aimed to gain a comprehensive view on the opinions concerning the management of these highly valued target species with a survey covering eight areas and three groups of fishers who through fishing or participation in decision-making influence the resources most.

The results show that the fishers accept considerably more strict areal, temporal, gear and catch restrictions than present. Thus, the management has fallen behind in addressing sustainability of endangered species. However, fishers seem to have gained good understanding on the state of, and threats to, endangered species through wider access to information. Recreational fishers seem to emphasize quality of aquatic resources and fishing experience instead of catch.