Swedish anglers in the Baltic are facing sharp restrictions in their favourite catch from April 1, the Board of Fisheries has decided.
A three-units-a-day limit for pike anglers with hand gear is taking effect then, and only those fish between 40-75 centimetres may be kept. These permanent restrictions apply to the whole Swedish Baltic coast, except for the northernmost Bothnian Bay (ICES Subdivision 31).
The background to the proposal is the dwindling Baltic stocks of pike, a classic for the Swedish angler, musing over life in a small boat on a quiet summer evening, the sun slowly setting in the west. Statistics from professional fisheries show an 80 per cent decrease in catches over the last 15 years. Almost all, or 94 per cent, of pike caught today stems from recreational fishing, according to the Board of Fisheries.
One reason for the decrease in pike, scientists say, may be the overfishing of cod in the Baltic, and the following disturbances in the ecosystem: sprat, not threatened by cod, eat pike fry, or deprive them of plankton, a shared food source.