Coastal Fisheries in the Eastern Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland) and Its Basin from the 15 to the Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The paper describes and analyzes original data, extracted from historical documents and scientific surveys, related to Russian fisheries in the southeastern part of the Gulf of Finland and its inflowing rivers during the 15- early 20th centuries. The data allow tracing key trends in fisheries development and in the abundance of major commercial species. In particular, results showed that, over time, the main fishing areas moved from the middle part of rivers downstream towards and onto the coastal sea. Changes in fishing patterns were closely interrelated with changes in the abundance of exploited fish. Anadromous species, such as Atlantic sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, brown trout, whitefish, vimba bream, smelt, lamprey, and catadromous eel were the most important commercial fish in the area because they were abundant, had high commercial value and were easily available for fishing in rivers. Due to intensive exploitation and other human-induced factors, populations of most of these species had declined notably by the early 20th century and have now lost commercial significance. The last sturgeon was caught in 1996, and today only smelt and lamprey support small commercial fisheries. According to historical sources, catches of freshwater species such as roach, ide, pike, perch, ruffe and burbot regularly occurred, in some areas exceeding half of the total catch, but they were not as important as migrating fish and no clear trends in abundance are apparent. Of documented marine catch, Baltic herring appeared in the 16th century, but did not become commercially significant until the 19th century. From then until now herring have been the dominant catch.

European smelt Osmerus eperlanus in the eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea: Stock status and fishery

“…During the 19th–21st centuries the O. eperlanus fishery shifted gradually from rivers to the near‐shore zone of the sea. This trend, common to other fish species in the Baltic area, suggests that high‐quality anadromous fish can be caught using common types of fishing gear at the early stages of its sea‐river migration and while feeding and growing (Lajus et al, ).…”

Tambora and the mackerel year: Phenology and fisheries during an extreme climate event

“…2B). In the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, moving from river to coastal fisheries appears as a gradual process taking many decades or centuries ( 112 , 113 ). In the GoM after Tambora, the same sort of shift took place in 5 years.…”

Lampreys: Biology, Conservation and Control

“…The largest commercial fisheries for European river lamprey have been (and continue to be) in rivers that flow into the Baltic Sea (i.e., in Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Russia;Lajus et al 2013). In Finland, where statistics on river lamprey catches are recorded, total catch ranged from approximately 1.8 to 3.0 million lamprey per year in the 1970s and 1980s, and approximately 0.6 to 1.8 million lamprey per year in 2000-2011 (Tuunainen et al 1980;Dill 1990;.…”

“…Lamprey harvest is also significant in Latvia, where mean catches per year have ranged from 8 to 270 t (in 1980 and 1975, respectively) or approximately 92,000 to 3.1 million lamprey; catches were still high in 2003 (112 t or approximately 1.3 million lamprey). Historically, annual river lamprey catches in Lithuania and Russia ranged from 8 to 53 t Lajus et al 2013), and 1 to 7 t per year in Germany . There are no general rules regulating lamprey fishing in Sweden but, in Latvia and Estonia, fishing is restricted during the latter part of the spawning run; in Finland, there are regulations regarding fishing gear .…”

“…Likewise, lamprey fishing is important in Estonia; although catches have decreased over the last 60-70 years (and, as in Latvia, fluctuate among years), up to 63 t per year were harvested between 1994 and 2005 ). Fishing still occurs in Lithuania and Russia, but appears to have ceased in Germany Lajus et al 2013). In Poland, annual catches in the Vistula River in 1930-1939 exceeded 100 t (sometimes during a one-week fishing period) but, by the late 1980s, harvests amounted to less than 1 t per year and fishing ceased; this drastic decline was attributed to pollution, dams, and overfishing (Witkowski 1996).…”