Results of Lake Inari watercourse fisheries studies in 2008

We are reporting the Lake Inari fisheries monitoring research results up until year 2008. The total catch of Lake Inari was 187 tons (1.7 kg/ha) in 2008. The share of local household fishermen was about 50% of the total catch. Species-specific components of the catch were 57 tons of whitefish, 45 tons of brown trout and 14 tons of Arctic char. The total catch of all Salmonidae was 70 tons in 2008. The catch of vendace was almost 20 tons, similar to previous year. Four relatively strong year-classes of vendace were born very recently, but the 2008 year-class was weak. The catch proportion of gillnets from the total catch was 64%, and for whitefish and brown trout corresponding proportions were 79% and 57% respectively.

The proportion of stocked fish in whitefish stock was 40, 42, 58 54, 22, 32 and 36 % for year classes 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. The proportion of stocked fish in brown trout stock was 43% in 2003, close to the proportion of 50% that was estimated for earlier years.

Results of tagging experiments show that the stocking success of 3-year-old brown trout was a 349 kg catch per 1000 stocked fish for the trout stocked into the true estuary of the River Ivalojoki, but only 136 kg for the trout stocked 5 km upstream (Koppelo) from the river mouth. The third group was stocked to the pelagic area of Lake Inari, and these fi sh resulted in an intermediate 215 kg catch per 1,000 stocked fish. The proportion of stocked fi sh in the stock of Arctic char was about 70%.