Description of commercial marine fishery statistics

Compiler: Natural Resources Institute Finland 
Statistics home page: Commercial Marine Fishery
Main topic: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Yes
European Statistical System (ESS): Yes

Commercial marine fishery statistics comprise information on the number of Finnish commercial marine fishermen, the volume and value of the catch and the distribution of the catch and fishing effort.

Data content

The catch by commercial marine fishermen is provided per species, by month, by area and by fishing gear. The data is based on periodic catch declarations by commercial fishermen.

Classifications used

The catch is declared per statistical rectangle, formed on the basis of map coordinates, the size of which is approximately 55km x 55km. In the statistics, the volume and distribution of the catch is given according to the regions used by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

Data collection methods and data sources

Everyone engaged in commercial marine fishery is obliged to provide catch declarations. Actors may be natural persons (person or business) or legal persons (limited liability company, a limited partnership or general partnership), engaged in fishing for commercial purposes. The catch declaration is submitted on paper or in electronic format. Such information is collected into a database maintained by the Southwest Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment and the Provincial Government of Åland.

Updating frequency

The statistics are published annually.

Time of completion or release

An initial estimate on the catch for the previous year is published in January, and the final estimate between May and June.

Time series

Information is available from 1980.