Vendace regained its place as the most valuable species in inland waters

The commercial inland fishery catch totalled 5.1 million kilos in 2022. The catch was the same as the previous year. The catch of crayfish was 631 000 pieces, of which 99 % were signal crayfish. The total value of catch from commercial inland fishery was EUR 15.9 million, slightly more than in 2021.

This information is available from the 2022 statistics for commercial inland fishery of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

- The catch of vendace increased by a fifth to 2.38 million kilos. However, the catch was slightly below the average of the previous five years. Catches increased throughout the country compared to the previous year, except in Pirkanmaa and Häme, says Mika Rahikainen, senior statistician at Luke. 

The rise in pikeperch catch stalled, falling from 0.93 million kilos to 0.76 million kilos. Catches of pikeperch decreased almost everywhere in Finland and increased only in Lapland and slightly in Southern Savonia. Catches decreased most in Central Finland, Pirkanmaa and Häme, Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Northern Savonia. The steepest decreases in catches were in Ostrobothnia (- 45%) and Central Finland (- 37%). 

The third most important species in terms of catch volume was roach, with half a million kilos caught.

Group 1 fishers accounted for the majority of the value of the catch

The value of catch from the commercial inland fishery was EUR 15.9 million, slightly higher in nominal terms than in 2021, but EUR 0.9 million lower in real terms.

The catch value of vendace, including roe, was 6.1 million. Roe accounted for EUR 325,000 of this total. The value of catch of pikeperch was EUR 5.3 million. European whitefish was the third most important species, at EUR 913,000. The value of catch of signal crayfish was EUR 782,000. Perch (EUR 692,000) and pike (EUR 617,000) were major target species, as well. The catch value of bream and roach were EUR 387,000 and EUR 321,000 respectively.

Inland stocks of vendace and pikeperch are among the top resources for the Finnish commercial fishery. Only the catch value of herring at sea, EUR 15.5 million in 2022, exceeds the value of catch of vendace or pikeperch in inland waters. Finland's fourth most valuable species was sprat (EUR 3.4 million), which is targeted by the trawler fleet in the Baltic Sea.

In inland waters, 80% of the value of the catch fell to group 1 fishers. The second group (group 2), i.e. fishers with more secondary activities, accounted for 20%. Only most (85%) of the salmon catch was taken by group 2 fishers. Most of the salmon is caught in the lower part of the rivers Kemijoki and Iijoki. Catches of landlocked salmon were very low. For all other species, 70-90% of the catch was harvested by group 1 fishers.

Commercial fishers are registered in two groups. The first group consists of fishers whose average turnover exceeds EUR 10,000 during the last three accounting periods. New fishers can also belong to group 1 based on their action plan approved by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY). All other commercial fishers belong to the second group. Group 1 fishers are given priority in legislation when granting subsidies and strengthening fishing capabilities.

Based on the catch value and the number of fishers engaged in fishing, the average value of the catch recorded by group 1 fishers was EUR 41,000, while that recorded by group 2 fishers was a around EUR 3,700 in 2022. The amounts do not include VAT.

The number of commercial inland fishers decreased

At the end of 2022, the register of commercial fishermen maintained by the ELY Centre included 1,637 commercial fishers. There were 200 more in the register in the previous year.

However, some fishers were not engaged in any fishing activities, and many caught small catches. In total, around 1,170 fishermen were estimated to have fished during 2022. The accuracy of the estimate is around 4% in both directions. Of the active fishermen, just over 300 were in group 1 and around 850 in group 2.

For more details on the statistics, see https://www.luke.fi/en/statistics. Catch data are available in the statistical database from 1962 onwards.