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Attitudes and opinions of commercial fishermen on whitefish management in the Gulf of Bothnia, Finland
Author(s) -
HUHMARNIEMI A.,
SALMI J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2400.1999.00156.x
Subject(s) - fishing , overfishing , fishery , fish migration , fisheries management , fish <actinopterygii> , flexibility (engineering) , commercial fishing , business , fish stock , geography , economics , biology , management
Catches of anadromous whitefish in the Gulf of Bothnia have declined since the early 1990s. It is generally assumed that the cause is overfishing. The professional fishermen interviewed in the present study were united in the opinion that it is necessary to set limits on the fishing of whitefish, but had differing views about the means of achieving this. These different arguments involved separate whitefish stocks, various types of gear and different motives for fishing. Most of the professional fishermen accepted a minimum mesh size for gill nets. Other means proposed included setting limits on non‐professional fishing and sales of catches. There were conflicting attitudes about seasonal restrictions because their experiences with fishing restrictions for salmon had been negative. On the whole, decision‐making requires more regional information on whitefish stocks and fishing, but also on the social and economic flexibility of fishermen.