Project restricting commercial fishing in the Curonian lagoon and lakes makes its way into the Seimas – sparked fierce discussions | Deal

The project, which reached the Seimas, overcame the first challenge: the amendments at the presentation stage were approved on Tuesday, 70 members of the Seimas voted in favor, 17 against, 27 – abstained. These amendments to the law will now be discussed in the Seimas committees and will return to the Seimas session room on June 8.

The deputy Aistė Gedvilienė presented amendments to the law in the Seimas, and they were initiated by 42 members of parliament. The aim of the amendments is to increase fish stocks and create more opportunities for sport fishermen.

“The future of fishing as a business is aquaculture. Already now, most of the fish sold at the seashore is imported or raised in aquaculture farms, and is not caught in the Curonian lagoon ”, emphasized A. Gedvilienė in his speech to the Seimas.

“The fish community size index is bad. This means that the fish populations are in critical condition. 2012 when I started working at the Ministry of the Environment, the condition of the fishing resources in the lakes and the lagoon of Kaunas was very bad. This was a consequence of commercial fishing. When since 2015 fishing in the lakes and the Kaunas lagoon was partially prohibited, the resources began to recover “, said Linas Jonauskas, a social democrat member of the Seimas who proposed amendments to the law.

He said the state is investing millions of euros each year in the restoration and conservation of fishery resources. The Fish Service, which takes care of this, is also costly on the budget.

According to the parliamentarian, amateur fishermen contribute more than 1.7 million to the country’s budget. of fisherman’s banknotes. The branch also generates funds for the state through equipment stores and various fishing-related services, and it also has the potential to attract tourists from abroad.

Zigmantas Balčytis, a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Labor Party, who opposed him, stated that the situation in the Kaunas lagoon is slightly different, as it is a territory that belongs to one country, when Lithuania shares the Curonian lagoon with the Kaliningrad region. He also emphasized that such a ban could be socially insensitive.

“If more than a thousand people live off the sale of accessories for recreational fishing, why can’t dozens of people engaged in commercial fishing make a living from fishing?” Z.Balčytis asked rhetorically.

The representative of the Peasants and Greens Party, former Environment Minister Kęstutis Mažeika, seconded Z.Balčytis to Lithuania, emphasizing that Lithuania would not be able to fully regulate fishing in the Curonian lagoon, unlike the Kaunas lagoon. “For the Russian Federation, our ban presupposes that they can increase resources at our expense and capture the amount that we do not catch,” Mazeika said.

It is true that he asked for the project to be approved, with minor reservations.

L. Jonauskas responded to criticism that salmon and sea trout navigate to their river spawning grounds, so competition from Russia for these fish species should not be feared.

Ieva Kačinskaitė Urbonienė L. Jonauskas asked if a small traditional company can expect exceptions due to the fishing procedure. He appealed to the ancient fishing traditions of the communities. He answered “yes” to the question briefly.

Amendments divided communities

The amendments to the Fisheries Law were registered in mid-March by Aistė Gedvilienė, Chairperson of the Seimas Environmental Protection Committee and a member of the Christian Democratic faction of the Lithuanian National Union. They propose a ban on commercial fishing in the Curonian Lagoon and in all inland waters of the country.

The amendments would stipulate that commercial fishing in the lakes would be banned next year, and within three years, also in the Curonian Lagoon. Compensation would be provided to representatives of commercial fishing. The authors of the amendment cite the Kaunas Lagoon as an example, where fish populations have increased dramatically since the ban on commercial fishing.

Such a decision has divided both coastal and fishing communities. The companies are convinced that the ban on commercial fishing in the Curonian Lagoon will primarily affect fish consumers. The researchers, for their part, assure that there are more measures to restore the population in the lagoon and without prohibitions. Meanwhile, amateur fishermen are convinced that there is nothing to look forward to: kilometers of nets are shining in the Curonian lagoon, fish are drastically diminishing.