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On Tuesday, the Seimas intends to consider an amendment to the law proposing a ban on commercial fishing in the Curonian Lagoon and all inland waters of the country.
Concerned about their fate, representatives of commercial fishing held a remote press conference on Monday and stressed that discussions with them were being avoided and that the amendment to the law is the fulfillment of a voter promise, but without a serious discussion.
User who suffers
“The most important argument for us is the consumer, who was also not included in this discussion. The Curonian Lagoon is the last inland body of water where so-called entrepreneurs can still fish. We have a little growing aquaculture, but there are not enough fish raised this way. We also have fishermen at sea, but at the same time we understand that banning cod fishing has little to offer. Therefore, there is a shortage of fresh wild fish. In fact, we don’t have much to change. If we lose the fish caught in the Curonian Lagoon, we can assume that the price would increase. Another thing is that we would limit the desire of our own citizens to eat healthy ”, said Mindaugas Maciulevičius, director of the agricultural cooperative“ Lithuania Farm Quality ”.
According to him, not only local fishermen use fish as raw material, but also family workshops that nurture the national heritage. M. Maciulevičius was glad that fresh fish reached the markets not only to the inhabitants of the coast or the coast. The fishermen also transported him to the capital.
Neighbors protect their users
Follow Jakubauskienė, director of the association of fishing companies “Lampetra”, which groups 38 fishing companies, said that the culture of eating fish in Lithuania is in full swing. Fishing companies, which have invested a lot in workshops, can already put on the market not only gutted, smoked, dried fish, but also marinated, minced or even fried fish.
He gave the example of neighboring countries: Estonians and Poles fishing in Lake Peipus together with Russians, who also share Aistmares with fishermen from Russia. “However, both Estonians and Poles support their fishermen and try to supply their consumers,” said S. Jakubauskienė.
Understand instantly
- In mid-March, Aistė Gedvilienė, chair of the Seimas Environmental Protection Committee, registered amendments to the Fisheries Law, which propose to ban commercial fishing in the Curonian lagoon and in all inland waters of the country.
- Commercial fishing in the lakes is expected to no longer be possible from next year, and within three years commercial fishing companies will have to abandon the Curonian Lagoon and the main fish migration routes. Compensation is provided for going out of business or reorientation, the procedure of which must be prepared by the Government or its authorized institutions before November 1 of this year.
He said it was difficult to see what supported commercial fishing bans and the preference for the hobby of fishermen. Amateur fishing in the lagoon is already on the rise.
“It just came to our knowledge then. However, these fish make up about a tenth of the fish caught by companies. This project simply wants to ban commercial fishing in the Curonian lagoon,” explained S. Jakubauskienė.
Science offers other tools
According to the junior researcher at the Klaipeda University Marine Research Institute, Dr. Arvydas Švagždis, it cannot be said that the number of fish in the Curonian lagoon is drastically decreasing.
“What did we do to dredge the port? We have changed the way fish migrate. The fish do not stay in this place. Quotas are set for the entire body of water, which means that more will be caught on the Kaliningrad side, ”the scientist explained.
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./Rūkyta žuvis
Their data show that fishermen and fishermen in our country catch less and less, while the catches of fishermen in the adjacent area are increasing. According to A. Švagždis, there are other ways to preserve the fish population, not just the ban.
One of them is the artificial mean. In this way the salmon beds were restored in the waters of the country.
It also aims to adapt fishing gear to sustainable fishing, regulate cormorant populations, increase fish habitat areas, improve spawning grounds and migration routes, reduce the influx of saline water and protect fish. more effectively during spawning.
Environmental control is high
During the conference, Stanislovas Papievis, head of the company SLP zivis, explained the challenges he faces in his business. His company fishes and processes fish and sells it in his shop. In the Šilutė district.
“In the store, first they ask us what we have local, what we have caught. If we ban commercial fishing, we will eat frozen pengasias, ”lamented S. Papievis.
He assured that the intensity of commercial fishing in the lagoon has been decreasing in recent times. Fishing with so-called passive nets: mounted and waiting. Papievis also rejected allegations that environmentalists often finger-poke potential violations and have little control.
“We are being monitored by cameras for weeks. We know. Once we got back to shore we saw the cameras being disassembled, it turned out that we had been filming for almost a week. Before leaving the lagoon, we must inform the province where we will sail, in which square. We have to complete a record of how many fish we caught. The inspection can stop and weigh the fish at any time. The error can be small: 3 percent. If exceeded, fines are imposed per unit of fish. The heat can cost 100 euros ”, said the businessman.
Photo by Lukas Balandus / Žmonės.lt / Fishermen
According to him, legislators should foresee a longer transition period. According to S.Jakubauskienė, fishermen and entrepreneurs are financially weaker than amateur fishermen. It says: reorient. It’s the same as saying to amateur fishermen: go get mushrooms. Dzūkai mushrooms, we fish. We did not learn it in textbooks, we took it from our parents ”, explained the head of“ Lampetra ”.
She is convinced that the ban on commercial fishing would also mean cultural losses: the lack of holding festivals of smell, sweetbreads, fish cooking championships would lose its meaning.
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