International audienceMarine recreational fishing (MRF) is a high-participation activity with large economic value and social benefits globally, and it impacts on some fish stocks. Although reporting MRF catches is a European Union legislative requirement, estimates are only available for some countries. Here, data on numbers of fishers, participation rates, days fished, expenditures, and catches of two widely targeted species were synthesized to provide European estimates of MRF and placed in the global context. Uncertainty assessment was not possible due to incomplete knowledge of error distributions; instead, a semi-quantitative bias assessment was made. There were an estimated 8.7 million European recreational sea fishers corresponding to a participation rate of 1.6%. An estimated 77.6 million days were fished, and expenditure was €5.9 billion annually. There were higher participation, numbers of fishers, days fished and expenditure in the Atlantic than the Mediterranean, but the Mediterranean estimates were generally less robust. Comparisons with other regions showed that European MRF participation rates and expenditure were in the mid-range, with higher participation in Oceania and the United States, higher expenditure in the United States, and lower participation and expenditure in South America and Africa. For both northern European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, Moronidae) and western Baltic cod (Gadus morhua, Gadidae) stocks, MRF represented 27% of the total removals. This study highlights the importance of MRF and the need for bespoke, regular and statistically sound data collection to underpin European fisheries management. Solutions are proposed for future MRF data collection in Europe and other regions to support sustainable fisheries management

Mixed‐stock fishery of sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) in the Baltic Sea targets wild and stocked individuals, which could lead to over‐exploitation of wild stocks. Studying the contribution of different spawning streams and hatcheries to the fishery would aid in more effective management and conservation of S. trutta. The aim of the present study was to explore whether and to what extent parr from different S. trutta spawning streams and hatcheries can be differentiated, using water chemistry and otolith microchemistry. Water chemistry samples demonstrated significant spatial variation between different study regions (Estonia and Finland); Sr, Mg, Fe, Zn, Ca and Cu contributed most to the separation. Parr collected from different sites showed a significant difference in otolith element:Ca and 87Sr:86Sr ratios on a smaller scale, including only Estonian samples (n = 361), and on a larger scale incorporating parr from Estonia, Latvia and Finland (n = 564). The reclassification rate of S. trutta parr was on average 73%, being highest in Finnish streams and hatcheries, followed by Latvia and Estonia. Otolith 87Sr:86Sr and Sr:Ca ratios were the most important in discriminating fish from different sampling sites. The present study demonstrates the potential of separating S. trutta on various spatial scales including different countries and neighbouring streams, making this the most extensive otolith microchemistry study to date in terms of streams and regions studied. The established reclassification rules form a basis for future work investigating the natal origin of adult S. trutta caught in the mixed‐stock fishery in the sea.

-The construction of the Daugava hydro power station (HPS) cascade has significantly transformed Latvia's largest river the Daugava, reducing its importance in the natural reproduction of anadromous fish species. Currently in Latvia, as well as in other Baltic Sea countries, the river lamprey catch is decreasing, whereas the landings in the river Daugava have tended to increase. The dynamics of the river lamprey landings show the possible redistribution of lamprey stocks between the rivers Gauja and the Daugava. Possibly, this is a result of anthropogenic influence and changes in the river lamprey resource management may be necessary in the future.

Changes in the ichthyofauna of Latvia's inland waters and their causes have been analyzed. Information about the distribution and occurrence of fish, obtained from various sources of literature, official reports, "BIOR" data bases on fishery statistics, as well as field research done from 1990 to 2010, has been collected and compared. Anthropogenic activity in the 20th century, such as rivers blocking by dams and fish introduction and acclimatization, has affected ichthyofauna more significantly. Keywords-Latvia, inland fish, changes of ichthyofauna, inland waters I.INTRODUCTION

Most research to date on the status of the river lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis L. in Latvia has been done based on catch statistics data. The aim of this study was to explore the present status of the river lamprey fishery in Latvia to improve the understanding of catch statistics data. Currently, river lamprey fishing in Latvia is carried out at 24 fishing grounds located on 17 rivers. The most popular fishing gear is the lamprey fyke net, but lamprey weirs and lamprey trammel nets are also used. The type and design of the fishing gear depends on the parameters of the fishing ground. The catch size is highly variable and is greatly affected by the number of non-resources related circumstances, such as fishing regulations and meteorological factors determining the intensity of lamprey migration during the fishing season and opportunities for fishing during periods of the most intense migration. The fishing effort and the type of fishing gear have also largely changed since the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore, the fluctuation in both the long-and short-term catch data may not correspond to changes in the actual status of the lamprey population.