Earlier reports from a tackle trade association of a dramatic rise this year in Swedish upriver migration of Baltic salmon, arguably a direct consequence of the driftnet ban in the Baltic in effect since 1 January 2008, are being questioned by government experts as “premature”.
More than 80 per cent of wild salmon in the Baltic stems from the Swedish rivers. The two dominating spawning grounds are the Kalix and Torne rivers in the far North, the latter constituting some 500 kilometres of the nation’s frontier to Finland. Stefan Stridsman, a biologist with the Swedish Board of Fisheries and that agency’s representative to the ICES Working Group for Baltic Salmon and Trout, says reports closer to the end of the migration indicate average migration numbers in the Torne River and a 6-7 per cent increase in the Kalix River. “It’s been a good year, but not a record year”, he adds.
Anglers clubs have reported unusually large catches, but Stridsman explains that this may mainly be due to unusually good fishing conditions this summer: favourable water temperatures and water levels.
Environmentalists and sustainable fisheries proponents want to see the driftnet ban, primarily aimed at protecting sea fowl and the threatened Baltic harbour porpoise, in a larger context. “To maintain the population of wild salmon, it’s essential that open sea fishing is reduced,” says Gunnar Norén of the Coalition Clean Baltic. “In open sea fishing, catches are taken from mixed populations of natural and reared fish, which means that we have no control of the balance between those two, and the future survival of the wild Baltic salmon stocks”.
Seen overall, a clear improvement can be noted in the situation for the species after a near-crisis in the mid-1990’s, when a mere seven per cent of some 5,5 million salmon smolt (juvenile fish) migrating into the Baltic from Swedish rivers were naturally produced, as compared to some 30 per cent out of 7 millions today, according to Swedish Government statistics.
The recovery, so far more prominent in larger water flows than in small rivers, can be seen as a combined result of a partly unexplained decrease in fish disease, notably the dreaded M 74 disease, diminished catch quotas and restrictions in fishing areas and permitted catch periods.
Short background on Baltic salmon management
Until now, a majority of the salmon fishing has taken place in the open sea (70-80 per cent), while 10-20 per cent was taken in the coastal fisheries and around 10 per cent in the rivers. Polen, Denmark, Sweden and Finland take the majority of the catch. A very large amount of farmed salmon fry is released every year, in line with old agreements on compensation for hydropower development. Survival rates are fairly low and have fallen further in the past few years.
A total allowable catch (TAC) for Baltic salmon was first set in 1991. In 1996, implementation of a Baltic Salmon Action Plan, agreed through the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC), began. The plan was not considered sufficient by environmental interest, but did contain new management components. Because of the expansion of EU membership, the IBSFC ceased to function in 2005 and Baltic salmon management is now agreed in bilateral negotiations between the EU and Russia.
Quotas for Baltic salmon are set in numbers of individuals. Since 2000, the actual (reported) landings of Baltic salmon have been lower than the agreed quota, but often higher than the scientific recommendations. In 2007, the total of reported landings was only 42 per cent of the TAC. From 2007 to 2008, the TAC was lowered from 428,697 salmon to 364,392. The driftnet ban has been phased in over a number of years, but came into full force on 1 January 2008.
The European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a new long-term management plan for Baltic salmon, which is expected in 2009.