New provisions have been proposed to restrict fishing in the habitat of endangered Saimaa seals, one of the rarest seal species in the world.
According to the proposal, fishing restrictions would be imposed on a larger area of the extensive Lake Saimaa system in Eastern Finland, which is the only place where the species occurs. The protected area would be extended by 300 square kilometers. Net fishing, which poses a risk of seals getting caught, would be banned in the area from mid-April to the end of June, with the exception of nets used to catch small whitefish known as vendace.
The proposal has already aroused opposition from conservationists and scientists that it does not go far enough to prevent nets from drowning every year. With species on the verge of extinction and a population of about 410 individuals, every unnecessary death is one too, biologists say – especially as mild winters make it difficult for animals to build colonies in snowfall.
The Finnish branch of WWF, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Saimaa Ring Club and the University of Eastern Finland have issued a joint statement banning net fishing by the end of July.
Half of all net drownings in July
NGOs and the university are critical of the exception for vendace nets and the insufficient coverage of the seal nesting area.
"We build snow spirits [for nesting] and will make artificial densities in the future to the extent we can. But it is a waste of society’s resources that young seals die every summer in the nets of amateur fishermen after being treated in artificial snowboats all spring." A researcher at the University of Eastern Finland said Mervi Kunnasrantaleading the seal research team.
In the last five years, half of all Saimaa seal deaths in fish traps and nets have taken place in July.
Municipalities, official bodies and organizations in the Saimaa region have three weeks to comment on the proposed regulation. The government must decide on new fishing restrictions by early April.
Source: The Nordic Page