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The Adaptation of Professional Fishing to Diminished Vendace Stocks: The Case of Finnish Inland Waters
Author(s) -
Sipponen Matti,
Niittykangas Hannu,
Salo Hannu
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1999)019<0737:taopft>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - fishing , fishery , stock (firearms) , business , fish stock , fishing industry , geography , archaeology , biology
The large number of lakes covering 10% of Finland's surface area provide an opportunity for both full‐time and part‐time professional fishing. However, the development of the fishing industry is hindered by unpredictable fluctuations in fish stocks, by the elaborate hierarchy of the fisheries system, as well as by certain features of Finnish professional fishing, such as the small size of fishing enterprises, the scattered pattern of production, and long transportation distances to the core demand areas. According to Finnish catch statistics, the stock of vendace Coregonus albula has clearly diminished since the mid 1980s. Our results show that full‐time professional fishermen differ from part‐time professional fishermen in their adaptation to diminished fish stocks: they increase their fishing efforts, they try to extend their fishing grounds, and they switch to or supplement with a new species. Moreover, their desire to develop their fishing is stronger than that of part‐time professional fishermen, and they can be regarded as active agents in the fishing industry. When a fishing enterprise has adequate access to fishing grounds and is allowed to use different kinds of gear effectively, it may develop and expand its operations (i.e., use its entrepreneurial capacity). An important policy implication of resource use would be to ensure the availability of fishing licenses to full‐time professional fishermen, in the hope that the most active would also lead the continued development of inland professional fishing as a whole.