The fishers to cooperate in the John Nurminen Foundation’s Local Fishing Project in 2018 have been selected. During the upcoming fishing season, a total of 24 fishers will make their way to the Archipelago Sea and the nearby waters and go for roach and bream. This year, the goal is to catch 150,000 to 200,000 kg of roach and bream.
Fish caught within the project will be made into various products by the project’s cooperation partners and will be available to consumers in Finland. One of these products is Pirkka Archipelago Fish Patty (Pirkka saaristolaiskalapihvi) made of bream. In addition, according to Kesko, there will be a new addition to the Pirkka product family later this spring.
Going into the Fourth Year of the Local Fishing Project
Launched in 2015 by the foundation, the Local Fishing Project aims at nutrient recycling—bringing nutrients from sea to land—by managing stocks of cyprinid fish in the Baltic Sea. The catch finds its useful purpose as food in the form of fish patties and other fish products. Consuming Baltic Sea fish from sustainable fishing is a pro-environment action: it reduces the individual’s Baltic Sea Footprint. With the fish caught, nutrients will be removed from bodies of water, which helps reduce eutrophication in the coastal waters.
In 2017, around twenty fishers were recruited and fish stock management began in May. A total of 160,000 kg of fish was caught. Fish patties made of the fish caught within the project were served at institutional kitchens at least in the Turku region and in Espoo and Helsinki at Palmia restaurants.
In April 2017 the foundation launched, together with Kesko, a nationwide consumer product, Pirkka Archipelago fish patty (Pirkka saaristolaiskalapihvi) which rapidly became one of the most popular frozen fish products by Kesko. The final goal of the Local Fishing Project is to commercialize the entire production chain to ensure market-based functioning of fish stock management in parts of the Baltic Sea belonging to the project’s scope by the end of the project. The Local Fishing Project is one of the pilot projects implemented within the NutriTrade project, co-financed by the EU Interreg Central Baltic programme (2015–2018).
Nutribute! Make a Donation for a Project and Support the Management of Fish Stocks of the Baltic Sea
The John Nurminen Foundation is encouraging citizens and companies to contribute monetarily to the projects aiming at management of fish stocks of the Baltic Sea. On the Nutribute crowdsourcing platform, donors can decide on their preferred project: Bream stock management in the Archipelago Sea Area or Bream stock management in the Bothnian Sea Area. The projects also support livelihoods in coastal fishing communities in Finland.
The objective of these two projects is to remove fish from the sea and make it into consumer products, and to reach a nutrient recycling objective of removing 900 kg of phosphorus annually from the sea. The projects’ fundraising goals are 33,200 euros for the Archipelago Sea and 26,550 euros for the Bothnian Sea.
There is still time to participate in the project together with the John Nurminen Foundation. Two weeks to go—act now!
Take These Steps to Make a Donation to Support the Fishing Projects:
- Start donating by registering at www.nutribute.org
- At the top right hand corner of the screen, click the ”Sign up” button and create an account consisting of username (email address) and password.
- An email will be sent to your email address with a confirmation link. The account is activated by clicking the link.
- Log in by clicking the ”Log in” button at the top right hand corner of the screen. Then, select your preferred campaign (Local Fishing Project in the Archipelago Sea Area / Local Fishing Project in the Bothnian Sea Area) and make a donation.
Further information on the Local Fishing Project
