About Fishing

Fishing in Ostrobothnia is versatile and carried on along the coast, in rivers and in lakes. Seen through a national perspective, the fishing industry in Ostrobothnia is large. Just over a quarter of the country's fishermen are found here, and they fish almost half of total catch of the common white fish, a third of the perch catches and just over a quarter of the herring catches in Finland. In addition, the catches of the cyprinid stocks is increasing in the area. The number of fishermen has decreased in recent years and the fishermen's average age is high. The number of young persons becoming fishermen is low in the area, thus, the number of commercial fishermen is expected to decrease further. The fishing is primarily a coastal and archelagic fishing with fishing boats under 12 meters, and fishing takes place near to the fishing port or smaller ports. Coastal- and archipelagic fishing with fishing gear are standing or anchored, i.e. passive fishing methods. For this reason, fishing is for the most part characterized as sustainable, both environmentally (low energy demand) and in view of the fish stocks. The Herring fishing fleet is small, yet modern and efficient. Finnish herring fishery is now concentrated in the Gulf of Bothnia with the town of Kaskinen as one of the most important landing ports. The most important fish species in commercial fishing are Baltic herring, sprat, common white fish, perch and salmon. Also burbot, pike, smelt, trout, bream, roach and other cyprnids are important in the Ostrobothnia commercial fisheries. Read more about the fishing industry in Ostrobothnia.

Commercial fishing in Ostrobothnia is important from a national perspective, while recreational fishing is still one of the smaller in Finland. However, while commercial fishing in recent years has been in decline, the interest for recreational fishing has increased. Especially, the central parts have invested in fishing tourism, and there is the opportunity to purchase various types of fishing packages for all seasons and fishing methods. Read more about recreational fishing opportunities and fishing tourism in Ostrobothnia through the project Pike Paradise.