The Fisheries Secretariat and Race for the Baltic visited The Fisheries Information Centre in Pärnu, Estonia. The visit involved learning more about the fishery sector in Estonia, main fish caught and the role of the Fisheries Information Centre.
The Fisheries Information Centre was established in April 2011 under the Department of Fish Biology and Fisheries at the Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tarut, with the purpose to act as a focal point for the fishing sector where they can receive the latest information, professional training and come for consultation.
The main species caught by the Estonian fishermen is Baltic herring and pike. The fishing industry has decreased in recent years, with one of the cause being reduced fish stocks. Recovery of the fish stocks and particularly of the cod populations is key to the environmental and economic recovery of the Baltic Sea. Careful management of cod and its main feed species, sprat and herring, will help improve the Baltic Sea environment and create a long-term future for a sustainable fishing industry.
The aim of the Fisheries Information Centre is to share and distribute scientific and legislative information, professional experience along with good practices to enable lifelong learning. They do so as means of making the Estonian fishing sector become more knowledge-based and take more sustainable decisions. In light of the role of the centre, advising and sharing scientific and legislative information and promoting the fishing industry to become more sustainable, we hope that the Fisheries Information Centre work towards a recovery of the natural wealth of fish stocks. We encourage the Fisheries Information Centre to advocate for the Race for the Baltic asks at a national level and to bring forward the message to the Estonian ministers.
We ask the Estonian politicians to:
▪ Ensure that scientific advice is followed when fishing limits are set and enforced, in order to build up the biomass of fish stocks, particularly for key species such as cod.
▪ Set long term plans for management of key fish stocks in the Baltic to ensure both biological and economic sustainability.
▪ Set management targets that secure Baltic cod reproduction – allow cod to spawn at least once before it is caught
▪ Respect of wider ecosystem function must be central part of Baltic Sea fisheries management.