Local fishing project will benefit the Baltic Sea and Finnish consumers

The John Nurminen Foundation is about to establish the Local Fishing Project, which aims, through directed fishing of cyprinid fish, to recycle a significant amount of nutrients from the marine ecosystem to solid ground, thus complementing the measures that seek to reduce nutrient loads onshore. The project will also increase the utilisation of cyprinid fish from the Archipelago Sea for food consumption, restoring the cyprinid populations that have grown as a result of eutrophication back to their more natural levels. During the project, various research institutions will study the impact of directed cyprinid fishing on fish stock and the food web.

In the project’s pilot phase this spring, directed fishing will target the underused cyprinid fish in the area of the Archipelago Sea. The catch of cyprinid fish will be utilised in its entirety: the majority will be processed further for use in the food industry, with unused fish parts used in either livestock or fish feed and in energy production. Fish that are endangered, predatory or of value are not fished but are instead released from traps back to the sea.  Traps are also not placed to river mouths. With the pilot, the project seeks to create a permanent foodstuff chain for the cyprinid fish products as well as demand from both institutional kitchens and consumers.

Marjukka Porvari, the director in charge of John Nurminen Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects, spoke about the project today at the Meremme tähden (for the sake of our sea) seminar in Rauma: ’The planned Archipelago Sea Local Fishing Project will benefit not only the Baltic Sea in various ways, it will also benefit the Finnish consumer. Our role is to facilitate the creation of a market-driven mechanism that will allow nutrients from the Archipelago Sea to be recycled in the form of cyprinid fish from eutrophicated marine areas to the meals and plates of the Finns. At the same time, we can provide alternatives to factory-farmed meat that generates nutrient loads to the sea and the environment, as well as to imported fish, farmed fish and soy. For us, it is also important to support the continuity and sustainability of the coastline’s traditional fishing profession, which will also enable us to support the wellbeing of the Archipelago Sea and the entire Baltic Sea.’

Petteri Orpo, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, welcomes the fact that developing the commercial utilisation of cyprinid fish will now be taken up on the initiative of the private sector: ‘this is a prime example of how government funding can activate the private sector in the initial phases, up until private stakeholders can take over the responsibility of a market-driven operation. In the future, we will continue to support the goal of commercial utilisation of cyprinid fish in line with, for example, the strategy of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.’

The project is estimated to last 3-5 years, and it will be implemented in two phases. In 2015–2016, during the pilot phase, a functioning production chain will be built in cooperation with stakeholders from the Turku region. Municipalities of the region are invited to join the project so that a steady demand for the fish products could be ensured from the outset, responding to the needs of, for example, institutional kitchens providing daily food services. The objective is to support the creation of a local fish product market with regional operations, and scan the related small-scale opportunities, challenges and bottlenecks.

The fishers who will participate in the project will be selected through a process that will begin in March. The fishers will commit to the specific terms and preconditions for fishing defined by the project, and to delivering at least the agreed minimum catches of cyprinid fish to stakeholders of the processing and foodstuff chain so as to ensure that supply will not constitute a bottleneck for food production. In the pilot phase, the Foundation will pay the fishers a subsidy that is based on the size of their catch, but the long-term objective is to have the fishing process running in a market-driven way, without outside funding.

To ensure the ecological and social sustainability of the fishing done under the project, fishing will be restricted with preconditions that all project participants commit to. Fishing will be limited to underutilised cyprinid fish, and all endangered species as well as predator and highly-valued fish have to be released from traps. Traps must also be located so that the ascents of migratory fishes are not endangered: for example, traps may not be located in the vicinity of river mouths. All project activities are conducted with the greatest possible transparency, fishing is monitored, and the project’s progress is openly communicated.

In the second phase of the project, the objective is to create nationwide coverage for the production and marketing of local fish products.  The products will then be offered also to consumers, and the aim is to involve committed food and grocery businesses in the marketing and productisation of the products. The project seeks to create a permanent consumer demand for local fish products, and increase the appreciation and market price of cyprinid fish products so that subsidies to the fishers will no longer be necessary.

Fishing plays an important role in curbing the eutrophication of our waterways, and in freshwaters, fish stock management has led to very good results. According to the Natural Resources Institute Finland, approximately 600 tonnes of phosphorus is annually removed from Finland’s waterways through fishing. There is ample research data on the ecological status of the Archipelago Sea, but the local impact targeted cyprinid fishing would have on the fish stock of the sea has so far not really been studied. This is why the project also includes follow-up research, which will survey the impact project activities have on fish stock and the ecosystem. The research project is conducted by the University of Helsinki, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the Turku University Archipelago Research Institute, and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). The research will also utilise earlier follow-up data.

‘Cyprinid reduction fishing has been conducted before in our marine areas, but without follow-up or research on its impact. Uncontrolled fishing has led to local conflicts at Pikkalanlahti, for example. The research conducted within the scope of the new project is open and transparent, and if needed, fishing can be modified or even discontinued should any harmful effects arise’, says Hannu Lehtonen, professor of fish biology at the University of Helsinki.

The John Nurminen Foundation takes on the responsibility for the implementation of the project. In the initial stage, the Foundation’s share of the funding is €250,000, including, for example, the subsidies paid out to the fishers. The research project is financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The John Nurminen Foundation, established in 1992, seeks to preserve the cultural traditions of Finnish seafaring and is an active force working for a cleaner Baltic Sea. The target of the John Nurminen Foundation Clean Baltic Sea projects, established in 2004, is to bring about visible improvement in the status of the Baltic Sea through, for example, reducing the nutrient loads entering the sea, and consequently curbing eutrophication.

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Further information
Marjukka Porvari
Director, Clean Baltic Sea projects
John Nurminen Foundation
Tel. +358 41-549 1535

Tuula Putkinen
Communications Manager
John Nurminen Foundation
Tel. +358 400-907 809

e-mail: firstname.lastname@jnfoundation.fi

Timo Halonen
Senior Adviser
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Tel. +358 40-837 4363
e-mail: firstname.lastname@mmm.fi