Commercial Marine Fishery 2008

In 2008, the catch by Finnish commercial fishermen in the marine area totalled 112 million kg. The bulk of the catch consisted of Baltic herring (83 million kg), followed by sprat (24 million kg). The next biggest catches were cod (0.8 million kg), perch (0.8 million kg) and European whitefish (0.6 million kg). The total catch was six million kg smaller than that in the previous year because of the fall of Baltic herring catch. The catches of many of the species caught on the coast, e.g. pikeperch, perch and and burbot were down. Of the total catch, 92% was taken by trawl, 6% by trap net and 2% by gill net.

The producer value of commercial marine fishery in 2008 totalled EUR 23,1 million. Economically the most important species was Baltic herring (EUR 11,9 million). Other economically important species were sprat (EUR 3,0 million), European whitefish (EUR 2,6 million), cod (EUR 1,4 million), pikeperch (EUR 1,3 million), salmon (EUR 1,1 million and perch (EUR 1,0 million).

At the end of 2008, the register of professional fishermen contained the names of 2079 fishermen. A third of them, earned at least 30% of their income from fishing. The number of professional fishermen was highest in the areas of the fishery units of the employment and economic development centres (EEDCs) of Varsinais‑Suomi and Ostrobothnia.