Since 1989 the status of recreational fishing in the majority of Eastern Europe has changed markedly. The number of recreational fishermen has tended to increase slowly or remains static in most countries. The number of licensed and/or estimated fishermen in 1994 is summarized in Table 1.
It should be noted, however, that there is a considerable number of unlicensed fishermen and poachers who are not registered in these figures. These fishermen are fishing both legally (in private fisheries) or illegally. The estimated under-recording of fishermen vary from 20 to 200 %. In some countries (e.g. Poland) it is now possible to fish on private waters without a licence, but in the majority of cases such fishing is illegal.
Table 1 Summary of fishing pressure information presented
| Country | No. of anglers | % population | Tonnes per annum |
| Austria | 155 000 | 2 | 4 000 |
| Czech Republic | 281 000 | 2.7 | 3 400 (94 kg/ha) |
| Poland | 2 000 000 | 5.1 | 34 000 |
| Slovakia | 89 000 | 1.7 | 2 500 (50 kg/ha) |
| Hungary | 328 000 | 3.2 | 4 600 (32 kg/ha) |
| Romania | 200 000 | 0.8 | 8 325 |
| Germany | 2 350 000 | 3 | 35 000 |
| For comparison | |||
| Finland | 2 100 000 | 42 | 48 000 |
| Sweden | 2 000 000 | 27 | 17–26 000 |
| England and Wales | 2 200 000 | 7.2 | N/A |
The current mechanisms for evaluating the number of recreational fishermen are clearly inadequate if the subsector is to be managed effectively.
The proportion of the population who participate in recreational fishing varies considerably between countries, from 0.8 % in Romania to 5.1 % in Poland (Table 1). The differences reflect the accuracy of recording/estimating, licensing of fishermen, availability of suitable waters, etc. The proportions of fishermen in the population are, however, low when compared, for example, with Northern Europe (Table 1).
Estimates of the weight of fish landed also vary markedly but not in relation to the number of fishermen (Table 1). Highest catches were reported from Poland and Germany. In all countries of the region the recreational catch is also a source of good food and contributes to domestic consumption. It should be noted that estimates of catch are derived by various methods from questionnaires, both obligatory and voluntary (eg. Poland, Hungary), to equations based on maximum allowed catch multiplied by the average number of fishing trips (Romania). In all cases these values are probably underestimates and estimates of total catch should also take account of unlicensed fishing.
