Latvian coastal fishers develop seal-proof and eco-friendly fish traps
The association “Mazjūras zvejnieki”, working with the research institute BIOR, is developing new traps and a pound net that protect catches from seals and birds. Once scientists issue their opinion, all coastal fishers will be able to use the designs free of charge.
Coastal fishers in Latvia are looking for a way out of a situation in which seals and cormorants damage fishing gear and eat the catch. The association “Mazjūras zvejnieki” (Small Sea Fishermen) is developing new, environmentally friendly fish traps and a pound net together with BIOR, the Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment. The aim is to preserve a sector in which only a few dozen fishers go out to sea year-round.
The problem: seals, cormorants and old gear
The coast still relies largely on heavy Soviet-era collective-farm style net traps, as well as gill and herring nets. Andris Cīrulis, chairman of the association and a practising fisher, says the seal population grows every year and that ordinary nets can now catch practically nothing, because seals tear them and eat the catch. Cormorants can destroy hundreds of kilograms of herring in pound nets. Some fishers have quit and moved to other sectors or to fishing vessels in Scandinavia.
The new gear
The association drew on experience from Estonia and Finland and adapted it to Latvia's exposed coast. Four research projects have been set up: a large fish trap, a bottom pound net, small-size traps and a purse seine. The tail of the large trap is made of “Dyneema”, a durable material that seal teeth and claws cannot tear, and the entrance has a seal grid. The trap has an easily replaceable spare section, a sorting system lets young fish escape, and fish caught during closed seasons can be released alive. In its first season the trap withstood storms that destroyed old gear.
The closed two-chamber bottom pound net is almost 100 metres long and can be sunk to a depth of 17 metres. One such net has been placed near Cape Kolka, on the gulf side. It allows fishing in winter too, and is raised using air balloons and a compressor.
What comes next
After BIOR issues its selectivity opinion, any coastal fisher will be able to use the designs free of charge. The opinion also opens access to support from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund through Rural Support Service programmes, where co-financing for investment in selective gear can reach 100%. Project manager Iveta Tomsone says the other solutions will be tested next year.
The sector is still held back by administrative hurdles and generational change. The association has proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture set up an internship network for newcomers, but no systemic solution exists yet. Tomsone also criticises the requirement of a QR code for every batch of processed or smoked fish.
