Pike in the coastal area

Pike catches in coastal commercial fisheries have been on the rise since 2020. The 2023 catch (189 tn) was slightly higher than the previous year, but still below the long-term average of 210 tn.

Catch per unit effort (CPUE) in pike fishing is increasing in almost all fishing gear, which may indicate that pike populations throughout the coastal area are strengthening.

The average catch of pike in coastal commercial fisheries between 1980 and 2023 was 210 tonnes and ranged between 129 and 280 tonnes. There has been no clear trend in the variation of pike catches, although from 2013 the catch was on a downward trend until 2020, after which the catch seems to have started to increase again. The 2023 catch (189 tonnes) was slightly higher than the previous year, but still somewhat below average.

When considering sea areas, total catches of pike in commercial fishing are declining in the long term, especially in the Archipelago Sea and the Gulf of Finland. However, the decline in catches seems to have levelled off in recent years. In 2023, catches were slightly lower than in the previous year in both areas. In Åland, too, commercial pike catches have decreased in the long term and were lower in 2023 than in the previous two years. Further north, total catches have no longer decreased, but seem to have started to rise. In 2023, commercial catches in the Bothnian Sea reached record levels. In the Bay of Bothnia, commercial catches were at a higher level than in the previous year and the third highest in the monitoring period from 1980 onwards. Today, clearly the largest catch of pike is from the Bothnian Sea (half of the total catch), whereas the Archipelago Sea used to be an equal fishing area.

The catch of recreational fishing is many times higher than that of professional fishing. Catches of recreational fishing have also been decreasing in southern sea areas, but there is no clear trend further north. In 2022, however, the catch of recreational fishing increased compared to the previous couple of years and even clearly in Åland. Pike catches in recreational fishing have previously been highest in the Archipelago Sea, but in recent years the Bothnian Sea has become an equally important area.

CPUEs of commercial gillnet fishing have been increasing in all sea areas in the 2010s, but there has been a lot of variation in catches in the Archipelago Sea, and the catch dipped in 2023.

The CPUE of pike has been calculated on the basis of the total fishing effort on the coast, as pike is not generally a target species in fisheries.