A lot of Vimbu in Venta
Gunti can be called a fishing grandmaster, because his careers during that time he has won various awards in world-wide competitions. He caught his first fish at the age of five and has been passionately interested in it since then, like a sport. During more than half a century, a lot has been experienced with a fishing rod in our waters. “Venta is one of the most beautiful and richest rivers,” admits the fisherman. “We have a large stock of vimbus. In addition, those fish that come from the open sea are much more expensive than vimbas that swim into Lielupa, Daugava or Salaca from the bay. Around 30-35 cm vimbas, which are the smallest for us, are considered the largest there. The same applies to other species, probably better food in the sea. Pike, perch, pikeperch are quite expensive along the Venta. Also salmon and sea trout, although they are less in number. We have so many Vimbus that we should increase the limit. Often you can catch ten big fish in fifteen minutes, but if you have bought an expensive fishing permit in licensed places, then you don’t want to go home so quickly.”
G. Kārkliņš explains the changes in the population of the mentioned species in the same body of water with differences in spawning. Vimbas spawn in the spring, when the water level is high enough after the winter, especially if there was snow and ice that has even slightly eroded the overgrowth and the bed. On the other hand, the salmonids come in autumn, when after dry summers there are weak currents in the river between the green islets, through which you cannot go by boat in some places, there are few suitable spawning places. In addition, not all salmon and trout juveniles released into Venta survive, a large part do not return, as they are caught in the sea, where fishing is permitted by law.
“Unfortunately, the cleaning so far, in which a lot of money has been invested, has not significantly restored the salmon spawning grounds,” believes the farmer. Other rivers are also growing, this is a big problem throughout Latvia, in many places the water level is no longer as high as it used to be. This has affected the change of fish species, both negatively and positively, as fish have appeared in some rivers that were not there before because they were too deep. Vimba is also not significantly disturbed by overgrowth, as it has a larger food base.”
The greatest concern for salmonids
“We all want to have a diversity of fish in Latvia, but everyone determines the most valuable species according to their own criteria. The most important for us are those whose protection, according to the research of BIOR scientists, is defined in the legislation,” admits Jānis Sprugevics, chief inspector of the fishing control section of the Southwest Regional Administration of the State Environmental Service.
The preservation of biological diversity and the use of fish resources are determined by European international laws and Latvian legislation, including one of the main ones is the Fisheries Law, according to which the “Fishing, Crayfishing and Underwater Hunting Regulations” were developed, in order to especially protect the wealth of our waters. These MK regulations of 2015 provide for prohibition periods for certain species, the number and size of fish to be caught. Thus, the state law has determined which species are the most valuable.
“The biggest concern is still about salmonid fish,” says J. Sprugevics. “For years, we have been working on protection from various aspects: increased monitoring, stricter fishing restrictions, as well as large-scale artificial restoration of resources in the state program. But salmon and trout are becoming scarcer, as BIOR research shows. We also see that there are not many of these fish in the nets of small-scale fishermen.”
Honest – catch and release
However, you can’t be alarmed about the vimbas – their number may even have increased in the rivers of Kurzeme. There are also a lot of pike, zander and tench, which are popular with anglers, which also have a role limit set by law. Legislation also regulates that the fisherman (except for industrial fishing) is not interested in breaking the rules, because the caught fish can only be used for personal consumption, not even given to a neighbor in exchange for some other product. “It’s no secret that illegal trade of both fresh fish and smoked fish is still taking place,” adds the environmental inspector. “There’s a growing philosophy when it comes to honest anglers catch and release. The men walk along the river, spin, pull out the fish, have fun and release it back into the water.”
G. Sprugevics has been working as an inspector for 21 years and during this period he has experienced significant changes in environmental protection: “The time when I started monitoring what is happening in rivers can be compared Wild West. Now, small-scale fishing has declined but not been eradicated. It still happens to catch someone with a pike during the ban, or too many minnows on the line. Such habits can probably be eradicated only with a change of generations and education. However, there are improvements: once during the fish farming, half of the town lived by the river day and night, paths were trampled from one place through the bushes. Now it is rare to meet someone during the ban, although there are no fewer fishermen left in Latvia. According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture – around 100,000. We used to take out 30-60 or even more fishing gears in the Venta estuary during the active season, now only two or three. This is the result of both legislative and surveillance technology developments. And we must admit that the public’s attitude towards natural values has significantly improved.”
FOR REFERENCE
One angler may leave in the catch:
* pa for one for salmon and sea trout (caught in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga or in special places in the Daugava), as well as one alat and brook trout each;
* pa three for sablefish, lettuce, catfish, whitefish and eels;
* pa for five plaice, pike, tench, tench, tench, tench and zander;
* 10 cod:
* 20 turnip;
* 5 kg perch caught in inland waters, 10 kg – in the sea or bay;
* 10 kg herring, flounder and flounder – from each species;
* fish of other species – unlimited.
Jānis Sprugevics, the chief inspector of the fishing control section of the Southwest Regional Administration of the State Environmental Service, has been performing his duties for more than 20 years and has experienced significant changes in environmental protection.
The materials were created with the support of the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund. SIA “Kurzemes Vārds” is responsible for the content of the publications.
