The present structure and development scenarios of L. Peipsi-Pihkva fish resource use

1. The present structure and development scenarios of L. Peipsi-Pihkva fish resource use Markus Vetemaa1, Aija Kosk2, Margit Eero1 & Toomas Saat1 1Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014 Tartu, Estonia 2Institute of Zoology and Hydrobiology, Estonian Agricultural University, Tartu, Estonia E-mail: mvetemaa@ut.ee ; kosk@sab.ee ; margitee@ut.ee ; tsaat@sea.ee

3. Dynamics of landings of most important species

4. The value of commercial catch from L. Peipsi-Pihkva • 84% from the total catch of the inland Estonian fisheries • 15% from the total catch of Estonian fisheries (Atlantic fishery excluded).

5. Fish resource users: • commercial fishermen • household fishermen • recreational fishermen

6. Commercial fishery

7. Commercial fishery: • Total number of allowed gears is limited • Fishing rights are allocated according to the historical usage principle • From 2001 onwards 10% of all historical fishing rights is allocated through open auctions

8. Household fishery

9. Household fishery: • Meant for coastal inhabitants to fish for their own use • Inhabitants of the municipalities bordering Lake Peipsi-Pihkva have the rights to apply for up to 3 gill-nets to be used in the 1 km wide coastal zone

10. Recreational fishery

11. Recreational fishery: • Allowed to everybody, including foreigners • Number of licenses is not limited

12. The importance of different species in landings of commercial and household fishermen Total landings 1937.2 tons Total landings 37.4 tons

13. The importance of different species in the value of landings of commercial and household fishermen Total value 1776*103 Euro Total value 20*103 Euro

14. The annual dynamics of the value of landings of commercial and household fishery

15. Commercial fishery: • Segment is totally privatised • Estimated total number of fishermen - 400 on the Estonian and 700 on the Russian side • Number of owners of commercial fishing rights on the Estonian side in 2001 was 65; 36 of them fishing enterprises, 29 one-man enterprises

16. Number of allowed fishing gears and prices in Estonia

17. Dynamics of the catch value from L.Peipsi and average wage in Estonia In year 1996 the total value of L. Peipsi-Pihkva official catches corresponded to 672 Estonian average yearly salaries.The value of 2001 catches corresponded only to 398 average yearly salaries.

18. Household fishery: • Total number of allowed gill-nets - 1000 Number of household fishermen in 2001 approximately - 600 • Most important species are perch and roach • 13 % of total roach catches and 2% of perch catches in 2001 were taken by household fishery

19. Recreational fishery: The total number of recreational fishing licenses issued by the counties bordering L. Peipsi-Pihkva

20. The number of fishermen on ice during 04-10 February 2002 (Monday-Sunday) Counted by the Estonian Border Guard

21. Characteristics of Estonian fishery on L. Peipsiin comparison to European countries • Unlike in most European countries in Estonia recreational fishermen do not play important role in utilisation of fish resources of inland waters • In Lake Peipsi-Pihkva the share of “catch sellers” in the group of recreational fishermen is high whereas in developed countries recreational fishermen fish almost exclusively for pleasure • Today the recreational fishery of L. Peipsi-Pihkva is more “an employment of the last resort” than a leisure-time hobby

22. Generally it is accepted that recreational fishery provides higher income to the region for each used unit of fish resource than commercial fishery • Majority of the recreational fishermen on L.Peipsi-Pihkva are local citizens, which means that they are not providing extra income to the region in form of usual “tourist business” • Profit-oriented recreational fishery carried out mostly by local people can be evaluated as rather wasteful, because the fish resource taken now by thousands of “artisanal” fishermen could be harvested by significantly smaller number of people using more efficient equipment.

23. Conclusions: • The fisheries of L. Peipsi-Pihkva is still quite old-fashioned in means of resource use, because the bulk of the catch is taken by commercial fishermen. • However, the scenario of decreasing importance of the commercial segment in L. Peipsi-Pihkva fisheries can be predicted • The use of fish resource by local inhabitants in means of household fishery can be evaluated as a positive element. Fishing for own use is a traditional part of the life-style of the region. The right to fish gives additional value to the whole region. • The character of the recreational fishery is rather untypical being more an additional source of income for many coastal citizens than an activity carried out for pleasure.