FINLAND

The Republic of Finland, except for Iceland, is the world's northernmost state. Low-lying and forest-clad, its labyrinth of inter-connected lakes and streams accord it the highest percentage of inland water surface of any of the European countries. Furthermore, the low salinity of the Baltic gulfs which form its coasts extend its fishery for freshwater fishes into the sea itself.

Finland's natural wealth lies in its forests which support its principal industry, the production of wood, paper and pulp. Its agricultural and mineral resources are limited, and it has a long, cold winter period. Despite its flat terrain, its hydroelectric resources have been well exploited with consequent destruction of major anadromous fish stocks.

Although its natural water quality is generally unproductive, the country's wealth of inland waters, almost 10 percent of its area, and its brackish coastal waters produce fishing for salmonids, coregonids, and cool-water fishes. Subsistence fisheries are a strong element in the use of Finnish waters, and although professional fisheries are in a decline, there is a large increase in recreational fishing. Aquaculture, primarily confined to trout production, is growing steadily in both fresh and brackish waters and has well surpassed the commercial catch in inland waters.

Finland lies between 59°30'10" and 70°5'30"N latitudes and 19°7'3" and 31°35'20"E longitudes. About one-third of the country is above the Arctic Circle.

Its extreme length (N–S) is 1 160 km, its extreme width (E–W) is 540 km. Its narrowest dimension is 195 km. About three-quarters of the country is flat, ranging from 60 to 180 m, with only a few hills which rarely exceed 300 m and a mean altitude of about 150 m. The altitude, which increases gradually from southwest and south to northeast and north, has an extreme range from sea level to 1 328 m.

Finland is partially surrounded by the Baltic Sea and its gulfs, the Gulf of Bothnia on its west and the Gulf of Finland on its south. It has a boundary of 586 km on the west with Sweden, a boundary of 716 km on the north with Norway and one of 1 269 km on the east with the USSR¹.

¹ Boundary lengths after Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikirja (Statistical Yearbook of Finland) 1988

In straight line, the coast is about 1 100 km in length, with curves it is about 4 680 km long, and if one includes the shoreline of its archipelago in the southwest with about 80 000 small islands, it totals about 27 000 km in length.

A part of the peneplained Fenno-Scandian shield, Finland was once covered by glaciers which, during the ice-age, scarred and gouged the surface, rounding its hills and filling in most of its depressions. Eskers or low ridges of stony-sandy material, laid down sub-glacially, cover much of the country. Many valleys were dammed by glaciers to create lakes and disrupt rivers causing falls and rapids. Inter-connected lakes now cover about 9 percent of the land and as a result of small differences in altitude over large areas, form long chains with equal water level over distances of 100 km or more.

The underlying rocks are mostly gneisses and schists and intruded bosses of granite blanketed by infertile morainic drift and peat. About 30 percent of the land area (bogs and fens) is organic soil (peat), low in plant nutrients, and generally deficient in phosphorus. Other soils are thin, almost exclusively pedzols, with a low rate of drainage following summer snowmelt which leaches them. There are some clays and silts in littoral areas, and some poor forest soils.

About 70 percent of the country is forested. Finland is situated almost wholly in the northern zone of coniferous forest. As one proceeds north, the vegetation changes from conifers and deciduous trees (oak, maple, linden) to purer stands of conifers, then stunted birches, and finally tundra. Pine, spruce and birch are 98 percent of the forest.

Physiographically, Finland can be divided into three main areas:

1. the northern lands extending into Lapland;
2. a central lake plateau in the south and southeast, and
3. the coastal plains in the south and west.

Northern Finland is a thinly settled area of forests, bogs and barren fells (fjells). Lakes occupy only 3–5 percent of the area and rivers are the predominant waters. The central lake plateau is an undulating peneplain with some round granite hillocks, and a confused immature drainage. It is dominated by large river basins with chains of lakes covering 10–20 percent of the area. Largely forested, it supports some agriculture, and the lower portion is more thickly settled. The third area of the country, the greatly indented coastal plains which extend inland for about 80 km, has some good soils: clays, sand and gravel. Its rivers are relatively small and there are few lakes. This area has the most extensive farmlands, the most continuous settlements, and the largest number of urban centres.

4. CLIMATE

The climate of Finland is intermediate between the maritime type of climate of western Europe (with the Gulf Stream as a source of heat) and the dry continental type of the east which dominates it.

The mean annual temperature in the southern part is 6°C, to -0.4°C in the far north. The winter range is about -3° to -21°C; the summer range, 12.8° to 17.2°C.

The average annual precipitation in Finland is 630 mm, ranging from about 700 mm in the south to 400 mm in the north. Summer precipitation is two to three times as much as that in winter. One-third of the total precipitation in the south is snow; it equals two-thirds of the precipitation in the north. Snow-cover lasts from 80 to 140 days in the southwest to 220–250 days in the far north. Inland waters are frozen from about five months in the south to seven and a half months in the north (extremes, three to nine), and the less saline waters of the coast may also freeze (see section 5).

The growing season, based on the number of days on which the average air temperature exceeds 5°C, is about 170–180 days on the south and southwest coast, 150 days in the central lake district, and about 110–120 days in the far north (Lapland).

Annual evaporation is 350 mm in the south and 100 mm in the north. Since the annual rainfall on the south coast is about 700 mm and that in the north 400 mm, the runoff is almost equal in all parts of the country (see section 5).

In the far north the sun does not set for two months in the summer, and during winter there are two months without sun.

5. HYDROGRAPHY AND LIMNOLOGY

The land surface of Finland has a distinct fracture pattern, forming an irregular fault-mosaic. This is the basic factor in its intricate network of land and water.

Finland has a very large area of inland waters¹. Table 8 indicates that its inland waters total 31 560 km² or 9.3 percent of the country's total area. Mustonen (1977) states that the total lake area of Finland is 31 600 km², which is 9.3 percent of the entire area of the country. Munne (1982) agrees generally with this, saying that the lake area of Finland is 31 500 km² or 9.3 percent of the total area. Westman et al. (1984) say that the inland waters of Finland cover 31 613 km² or 9.3 percent of the total area. Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al. (1988) say they cover 33 520 km² or about 10 percent of the total area. The Statistical Yearbook of Finland, 1988, gives the inland water area as 33 522 km² or 9.9 percent of the total area of the country. Europa (1988), Paxton (1984) and Worldmark (1984) also indicate that the area of inland water in Finland constitutes 9.9 percent of the total area. This percentage ranks above that of all other countries in Europe, surpassing both the Netherlands and Sweden in this respect.

¹ In addition to these waters which are fresh, Finland has some large brackishwater areas which support several species of freshwater fishes (see sections 5.5 and 7)

Based on an average precipitation of 630 mm/year (20 litres/sec/km²), the approximate annual runoff from rainfall in Finland is 300 mm or 100 000 million m³. Upstream countries contribute 4 000 million m³ so that total annual river discharge leaving Finland is 104 000 million m³ (Van der Leeden, 1975; ECE, 1978). About one-half of the runoff from precipitation runs off through the water courses and as ground water into the sea, and slightly over one-half is evaporated. Thus about 3 100 m³/sec from this source is discharged.

The “natural state” of Finland's surface waters is as follows: suspended solids, 1–5 mg/litre; phosphorus, 8–25 mg/m³ P; nitrogen, 200–500 mg/m³ N (Mustonen, 1977). The larger northern Finnish rivers are close to this state, but water quality has been altered through man's activities as wll be seen in sections 6 and 9.

The major drainage basins of Finland are listed in Table 1 together with their areas and the percentage of each occupied by lakes. Rivers are the predominant inland waters in northern Finland; lakes are predominant in the south.

Table 1

Major drainage basins of Finland

^a Total area (× 1 000 km²) - 14.8
^b Total area (× 1 000 km²) - 40.0
^c Total area (× 1 000 km²) - 50.9
^d Total area (× 1 000 km²) - 61.6

Source: Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikirja, 1982

5.1 Rivers (Joki/Älv)¹

Munne (1982), following Finland's National Board of Waters, says that the total length of Finland's rivers exceeds 20 000 km. Several other Finnish authors, such as Westman et al. (1984), and Heikinheimo-Schmid et al. (1988) agree.

¹ Finland has two official languages: Finnish (over 90 percent) and Swedish. In Finnish, the term “joki” (river) is usually included with the basic name of the stream, e.g., “Kemijoki”. The Swedish term for river is “älv”

The major rivers of Finland are listed in Table 2, together with their discharge characteristics.

Table 2

Principal rivers of Finland and discharge characteristics

Source: Van der Leeden (1975) after Jaatinen, Aqua Fennica, 1971

Arctic Ocean drainage. The Tenojoki (Tana in Norway), a continuation of the border river the Inarijoki (Anarjokka of Norway), after its junction with the Karasjoki, forms a portion of the border between Finland and Norway. The most important salmon river in both Finland and Norway, it flows north into Norway to enter the Tana Fjord on the Barents Sea. The total length of the Tenojoki is about 360 km. Another Barents Sea river is the Näätätämönjoki, originating in Finland and travelling through Norway to its mouth. The Paatsjoki is another international river, which flows north from Lake Inari for 142 km to the Barents Sea in Norway, first forming a border between Finland and the USSR (known there as the Paz) and then a border between Norway and the USSR. There is also a drainage from Finland's eastern uplands, the Koutajoki or Kovda River drainage, which flows through the lake system of the Soviet Karelia to the White Sea.

Baltic Sea drainage. The other principal Finnish rivers are all in the Baltic drainage. In Table 2, those from the Tornionjoki through the Kokemäenjoki are listed in the order they enter the Gulf of Bothnia from north to south.

Of these Bothnian rivers, the Tornionjoki is distinguished by being another of the country's international rivers, a border between Finland and Sweden. The lower portion is formed by the junction of the Torne Älv, flowing southeasterly through Sweden from Lake Torneträsk to the border, and the Muoniojoki/Muonioälv which rises in Lapland close to the Norwegian/Swedish/Finnish border and then flows southerly forming a Finnish/Swedish border en route. The border river is about 400 km long. Also in this Bothnian drainage is Finland's longest river, the 552-km Kemijoki, and its 338-km tributary, the Ounasjoki, and the Kokemäenjoki, Finland's best source of crayfish until the crayfish plague broke out here in 1907.

The Karjaanjoki and Kymijoki enter the Gulf of Finland directly, but the Vuoksi (the largest drainage basin in Finland) drains from Finland's largest lake, the Saimaa, southeast into Lake Ladoga in the USSR. Ladoga itself drains into the Neva River which has its mouth in the Gulf of Finland.

The annual runoff in the rivers does not vary much from place to place in the country or from year to year, but seasonal changes are quite large, depending to a large extent upon the size and percentage of lakes in the river basin. Thus, in the north where lakes are fewer, high water or even floods occur during the melt period of early summer. The balancing effect of the lakes is clearly shown in the Vuoksi which passes through many lakes. Its normal discharge during the month does not deviate from the mean monthly volume by more than 10 percent. On the other hand, the flow of the Kemi which passes through few lakes varies widely. The annual discharge pattern of these two rivers and that of the Kymi is shown in Table 3.

The five chief river systems (Kemijoki, Oulujoki, Kokemäenjoki, Kymijoki and Vuoksi), which drain almost 60 percent of the country and include most of the lakes, range from fast to slow-flowing. The rest of the country is drained by many smaller rivers, chiefly to the west and south coasts. Passing through flatlands, they are slow-moving and sometimes turbid with clay. Most of the rivers in Finland are short. Many of them are dammed and have lost their former runs of anadromous fishes. They are by no means as important as the lakes.

Table 3

Discharge of three principal rivers in Finland, 1930–40 and 1945–65

Source: Van der Leeden (1975) after ECE (1970)

5.2 Lakes (Järvet/Sjöar)

Depending upon the size of a static water body which one considers to be a “lake”, estimates of the number of lakes in Finland range upwards to about 188 000. Suomen Til. Vuosikirja (1988) says that “lakes with an area of at least 500 m² total about 188 000”, but most references credit Finland with about 70 000 “lakes”. The total number of lakes in Finland with a diameter over 200 m is estimated to be about 55 000 (Mustonen, 1977; Suomen Til. Vuosikirja, 1982, 1985/86). Of these lakes, 17 have an area of more than 200 km² and the total lake area has been estimated at about 31 500–31 600 km² (see section 5 above). The five lakes in Table 5 have a combined area (8 294 km²) over one-quarter the total surface area of all the lakes. Another classification of distribution of lake sizes in Finland is given in Table 4, and the largest lakes in Finland are shown in Table 5.

Table 4

Finnish lakes classified according to size

Source: Finland/EIFAC (1974)

Table 5

Principal lakes of Finland

Source: Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikirja, 1988

The total shore length is above 160 000 km, and the lakes have highly irregular shorelines. Their coefficient of irregularity lies between 10 and 20 in most cases, and they are full of islands. The deepest lake, Kallavesi, is 120 m deep, followed by Päijänne (104 m) and Saimaa (82 m). However, the lakes are generally shallow with an average depth of only 7 m. Consequently, despite their large extent their total volume is only about 220 km³ which increases their susceptibility to pollution. In fact, the rainfall of one year would be almost sufficient to fill all the lake basins, and the total volume of the 17 biggest Finnish lakes is roughly equal to that of the 5 585-km² Lake Vänern of Sweden.

The geological development of Finnish lakes began after the last (Weichselian) glaciation. In eastern and northern Finland their basins were formed immediately after this glaciation, but in the submerged coastal areas of southern, western, and central Finland the lakes were isolated from the various stages of the Baltic Sea as a result of isostatic uplift and tilting of the land. Some new lakes are still emerging on the coasts (Alhonen, 1983). Most of the glacial lakes lie in depressions formed by ice-scouring of fractures in bedrock shatter belts which have been excavated or filled with drift. Some are dammed by moraines. Some, such as Lake Päijänne, are partly tectonic.

Westman et al. (1984) state that most of the Finnish lakes (86 percent) are oligotrophic, and that the eutrophic lakes (14 percent) are generally located in the south and southwest in clay-soil areas. Some of the earlier authors, however, consider that a large number of the Finnish lakes are dystrophic. Thus, Kajosaari (1968) says that the dystrophic lake is the most common with eutrophic lakes predominant in some southern areas and oligotrophic in the north, while Lind (1977) states that most of the lakes in central Finland are dystrophic, whereas those in the southwest are eutrophic with oligotrophic lakes occurring in the southeast and north. Whatever one terms them, they are generally unproductive and poor in species.

The special quality of Finnish lakes is due in large part to low fertility of the soil and large amounts of peatland. About 90 percent of the lakes have low primary productivity and some 60 percent of the lake water is brown, coloured by humus from the peat and thus subject to a heavy natural load. The average lake water colour value of the whole country is 91 mg Pt 1 (Alhonen, 1983).

Surface water temperatures in the lakes of southern Finland are about as follows: June (15°C), July (19°C), August (17°C). The deep open lakes of the Central Plateau only become frozen permanently by mid-December. Ice breakup occurs in these lakes by mid-May and in the southern lakes by early May, but in Lapland the lakes freeze earlier and ice may not break up until June.

Some limnological data for Finnish lakes are shown in Tables 6 and 7.

In addition, some notes on Lake Päijänne, situated near the industrial centres of the south, and the second largest lake in Finland, may illustrate the importance of changes in the environment that have made a change in the fisheries of Finnish lakes. Päijänne, in the Kymi River drainage, has a volume of 18.3 km³, a maximum depth of 104 m, a mean depth of 17 m, shoreline of 2 450 m, a discharge of 209 m³/sec, an ice-cover of 147–169 days, and a theoretical retention time of 1 013 days. Naturally oligotrophic and oligohumous in its natural state, the average catches of professional and nonprofessional fishermen in Northern and Central Päijänne varied between 22 and 40 kg/ha/year providing total catches of about 2 million kg annually. Pollution and eutrophication began about 35 years ago, and with loading the catch has varied with reduction of planktonivorous fishes (coregonids) and an increase in perch (Perca fluviatilis), roach (Rutilus rutilus) and bream (Abramis brama). In its natural state the fishermen's catch was about 60 percent coregonid or 17 kg/ha/year, but with loading the coregonid catch declined to only about 7 percent of the total or less than 1 kg/ha/year (Nyrönen, 1978; Hakkari and Granberg, 1977; Harjula and Granberg, 1978).

Table 6

Limnological data for characteristic Finnish lakes, rivers and brackish waters

^a Part of the Great Saimaa system of about 120 connecting lakes (see Table 5)

Source: Modified from Lind (1977); Most samples analysed during winter

Table 7

Some limnological data for small and large Finnish lakes

Source: Rask and Ruuhijärvi (1990) after Kortelainen et al. (1989) and Laaksonnen (1972)

It should be noted that there are some international lakes in Finland such as the Karelian, Lake Pyhäjärvi (Ozera Pjuhajarvi) with 200.9 km² in Finland and 54.1 km² in the USSR¹. Discharge from these lakes may affect the waters of border states (see section 8).

¹ Finnish and Soviet studies on Lake Pyhäjärvi are the subject of a special issue of Finnish Fisheries Research, 8 (1987)

It should also be emphasized that many Finnish lakes have not only been affected by wastewater (as has Lake Päijänne), but have been regulated for hydropower and thus taken on some of the aspects of reservoirs, e.g., Lake Inari fluctuates 2.36 m causing erosion and a decrease in vegetation and benthos (see sections 6 and 9.2).

5.3 Reservoirs (Tekoaltaat/Sjöar, Konstgjorda bassänger)

The first artificial lake in Finland was built at the end of the 1950s, and by 1974 there were about 900 km² of reservoirs in the country. Among the large reservoirs are Lokka (417–216 km² in area) and Porttipahta (214–43 km²) in Lapland, which have become remarkable commercial fishing areas for whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and pike (Esox lucius). Generally, however, Finnish reservoirs are small, about 6.5 km² in area.

Some of the earlier ones were built on marshy lands, and oxygen concentrations were low for some years. Although Finnish watercourses were first dammed to create hydroelectric power and for flow regulation, most reservoirs built today are multipurpose in nature.

5.4 Canals (Kanavat/Kanaler)

There are about 40 major canals in Finland. One of these is the Saimaa Canal, 32 km long with a draught of over 4 m, leading through nine locks from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Saimaa to rise 76 m. Many small canals connect lakes and rivers and most are navigable.

5.5 Coastal Areas

The Baltic Sea proper (or Main Basin) occupies an area to the south of Finland, i.e., below the Åland Islands. Its largest arm, the Gulf of Bothnia extends along the eastern coast of Sweden and western coast of Finland; the northern part of this Gulf is called the Bay of Bothnia, the southern portion the Bothnian Sea. A smaller arm of the Baltic, the Gulf of Finland extends along the southern coast of Finland.

Tidal movements in the Baltic Sea are insignificant. The Sea is characterized by a positive freshwater balance and the water is brackish. The salinity off Finland rarely exceeds 6 ppt, and at the very ends of the Gulfs decreases to about 3 ppt. In fact, the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia may be frozen from 110 to 210 days/year, and the Gulf of Finland closed by ice for about 150 days². Separate freshwater areas form at the mouths of rivers and extend out to sea. (See Table 6 and section 5.4 in the review of Sweden.)

² The freezing point of sea water = -0.054 × salt content in ppt

These major brackishwater areas, the 117 000 km² Gulf of Bothnia, and 29 500 km² Gulf of Finland, support populations of freshwater or fluvial fishes which have good growth rates and make a considerable contribution to the fishery (see section 7).

6. LAND AND WATER USE

Table 8

Pattern of land use in Finland, 1986

Source: 1987 FAO Prod.Yearb., 41 (Publ. 1988)

Finland is considered to be 68 percent urban and 32 percent rural (1990). Its industry or use of land and water is largely determined by the fact that 70 percent of the country is forest, there is a lack of fossil fuels and minerals, the terrain is generally flat, the soil is poor, the country has a long winter period, and lies at the upper end of the grain growing area. Over 50 percent of the population lives in the south and southwest which represents only about 15 percent of the country's area.

Grass is the main crop and only about 7 percent of the land is cultivated. About 35 percent of the people, however, live by farming, which may also include some fishing (since most waters are privately owned) and forestry. Cattle are important agriculturally, especially for dairy use, some grains, beets, and potatoes are also raised. Less than 0.02 percent of the country was irrigated in 1986, and water for its use is normally not drawn from streams. Quite a bit of fertilizer is used and cultural eutrophication of some of the lakes began many years ago. Both swamps and forests have been ditched and drained to improve production. In fact, the Finns are experts in this subject. In response to the need for agricultural land, during the first part of this century, at least 500 lakes were drained and over 500 km² of former lake beds made suitable for cultivation (Smeds, 1961).

Finland is the most forest-clad country in the world and its main industries are production of wood, paper, and pulp in which it ranks among the top two or three countries. Dredging of rivers was first carried out by manpower in order to promote boat traffic, but since the end of the Nineteenth Century the dredging has been carried out mainly for timber-floating. It was not extensive until the 1950s when bulldozers were brought into general use and many of the rivers and large brooks, especially in northern and eastern Finland, were thoroughly dredged in the 1950s and early 1960s. Some 40 000 km of water routes have been used for floating logs and about half of the 20 000 km of rivers included in these routes were dredged by bulldozers. Such dredging has been very injurious to fisheries, especially salmonoid stocks. Log-floating occupies from a few weeks to several months a year. Trees are generally cut in the winter and floated during the early summer when streams are high. Bundle-floating is replacing raft- and loose-floating systems, and road haulage is gradually taking the place of water transit. As long ago as 1974, canal traffic in Finland (waterways connecting lakes) carried 22 130 timber rafts, but by 1979 only 16 459 timber rafts were in transit. After the 1960s, timber floating ceased in most rivers, except for the largest. As in other northern countries, some of the Finnish streams have been canalized and their bends straightened to permit log transport and prevent log jamsalbeit at the expense of fish populations.

The forest products industry consumes about 70 percent of the total amount of water abstracted daily from Finnish watercourses (Nilsen, 1974). Its largely decentralized pulp and paper industries produce considerable quantities of polluting effluents, particularly waste liquor from the sulphite process which has a high BOD, and waste fibre which causes slime blankets in the streams. Slimecides which are discharged with the effluent may also aggravate the problem.

In addition to Finland's principal forest industries, other industries, particularly in the southwest, include food processing, textiles, chemicals, machinery and shipbuilding. Some of these also cause water pollution, and by far the greater portion of Finland's water use is by industry.

Finland's major minerals are zinc, copper, a little iron, some vanadium, manganese and asbestos. There is no coal, oil or natural gas, thus placing more dependence upon hydropower for electrical generation. Finland does, however, have one of the largest peat reserves in the world.

The potential for hydroelectricity in Finland is relatively low as compared with that of its neighbours, e.g., its water flow per unit area is about half that of Sweden and one-tenth that of Norway. Furthermore, gradients are low, most of its lakes with high volume lie at low altitudes, and the rapids are usually long and gently flowing. Nevertheless, there has been a considerable development of hydroelectricity, and all of the main rapids have been harnessed. The option has been for power rather than for fish. Most of the development is on the Kemi River in the north, the Oulu Basin, and the Vironkoski River in the southeast. There are also many stations in the south where streams which leave the plateau have low heads, but are sustained by headwater lakes. By 1974, there were more than 150 hydroelectric plants in Finland and from 1 000 to 1 500 other man-made obstructions to the passage of migratory fish. By now, plants have been built on the principal sites, and dependence on future energy needs will depend largely upon thermal, nuclear, or imported power. The first nuclear plants were installed in 1976 and 1978, and by 1987 the installed electrical capacity in Finland was 11 661 000 kW, of which only 2 586 000 kW (22 percent) was hydroelectric. The remainder was thermal (6 725 000 kW or 58 percent) and nuclear (2 350 000 kW or 20 percent).

In fact, Finland has less hydroelectric power now than a few years ago, but the damage to its rivers has been great. As an example, within the Oulujoki watershed, with the fifth largest drainage basin in Finland, about 60 percent of the water area is regulated for hydroelectric purposes, 17 hydroplants have been constructed, and 77 percent of the rivers dredged so that most of the rapids have disappeared (Salojärvi, Auvinen and lkonen, 1982).

Finland's 8 936 km of railroad (1988) link it with Sweden and the USSR. In 1987 it had 76 233 km of public automobile road giving it a road density of only 0.22 km/km², one of the lowest in Europe, and a passenger car ownership of 330 per 1 000 people. Inland waterways navigable by ship total about 6 675 km, excluding some 40 000 km for timber-floating. However, the major way of moving goods is by truck.

Ground water is preferably used for water supply, and most private domestic water supplies are from underground sources. However, these reserves are scanty, so more than 80 percent of distributed or public supply now comes from surface sources and the amount is increasing.

Water usability in Finland has been classified, taking into account varied uses such as for domestic supply, fishing, or recreation. A classification given by Mustonen (1977) is shown in Table 9. Another study made by the National Board of Waters and Environment shows very similar results, namely, that in the “early 1980s”, with respect to water quality, almost 80 percent of Finland's lake area was considered excellent or good, almost 19 percent was satisfactory and only 2 percent was poor or bad (Tilastokeskus, 1988). As has been shown, a high percentage of the water was suitable for fisheries. There is, however, under Finnish law no mode of use which is preferred over another with the possible exception of obtaining water for domestic purposes, and in cases where water is to be used for a community, industry has the lowest priority.

In overall terms of wastes generated in Finland (1984) the following were largely responsible: agricultural straw and manure (28 percent), mining and quarrying (23 percent), tree felling (18 percent), and industrial woodwastes (12 percent) (Tilastokeskus, 1988).

Inland water is, of course, used for disposal. Public sewerage is high in urban areas, is spreading to rural areas, and piped water supply rapidly being extended. Municipal wastes account for only 3.6 percent of all Finland's wastes (1984).

Traditionally, many summer vacations in Finland are spent on lakes, and the erection of summer homes has been increasing at a rate of about 5 percent/year. With the growth of these homes comes increased water use, more pollution, more fishing, and more possible conflicts with fishing through use of boats, water skiing, etc.

Fishing both on a private and subsistence level is common throughout the country. The per caput supply for human consumption (1982–84) is 34.3 kg annually, and large amounts of fish are used for mink feed in the fur industry; both marine fish and some undesired or under-sized inland fish are used for this purpose. In 1987, about one-half of the total commercial catch in Finland was used for human consumption; the other half was used as feed on fur farms (OECD, 1989). See Table 12 for the source of Finland's capture fish supply.

Finland attracts tourism, especially in the summer, but although there has been interest in promoting recreational fishing, the opportunities for catching the most highly desirable fish (trout and salmon) are limited. Sport fishing for foreigners on the Tenojoki cost Fmk 80 or about US$ 20/day in 1980.

Table 9

A classification of water (by use) in Finland

Source: Mustonen (1977)

7. FISH AND FISHERIES

Finland has a limited fish fauna: about 60 species including marine forms, and only about four of these are exclusively freshwater fish. About 33 species live in both fresh water and in the brackish Baltic, most of them close to shore and seldom found in the open Sea. It is somewhat difficult, therefore, to speak of a Finnish “inland fish fauna”, because in some cases the catch of certain freshwater fishes in Baltic coastal waters is equal to or even exceeds that in strictly fresh water (see section 7.1). However, if we consider as “inland” not only strictly fluvial fishes, but diadromous fishes and those also capable of living in brackish water, then Finland has an inland fish fauna close to the number of species found in Sweden and Norway.

The inland native fishes of Finland include the following important species: lampern or river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis), European eel (Anguilla anguilla), Atlantic (Baltic) salmon (Salmo salar), brown trout and sea trout (S. trutta), the muikku/siklöja (Coregonus albula) which termed “European whitefish” in FAO statistics, but is commonly called “vendace” in Finnish fishery literature written in English, another coregonid (C. lavaretus) the siika/sik of the Finns, but known to them in English as the “whitefish”, grayling (Thymallus thymallus), smelt (Osmerus eperlanus), pike (Esox lucius), bream (Abramis brama), orfe or ide (Leuciscus idus), roach (Rutilus rutilus), burbot (Lota lota), European perch (Perca fluviatilis), and pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca).

The landlocked salmon (Salmo salar sebago) and char (Salvelinus alpinus) are also found in Finland, but are considered rarities (Pironen, 1990).

Fifteen new species of fish have also been introduced into Finnish waters since the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Of those species which have persisted, the following are of the greatest importance in open waters: Siberian whitefish (Coregonus peled), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), American brook trout (S. fontinalis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), and tench (Tinca tinca). The rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss), first introduced in 1897, has not been successful in Finnish open waters, but is used for “put and take” fisheries, and is the preeminent aquacultural species (see section 7.2). Other exotic salmonids in Finland are the Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum salmon (O. keta), products of stocking by the USSR, which enter Finland's Arctic rivers and have been found in the Baltic. (See Westman and Tuunainen, 1984, for an account of exotic fish introductions into Finland.)

In addition to finfishes, one species of crayfish, Astacus astacus, is endemic to Finland. Formerly very abundant, it has undergone a strong decline in this century since introduction of the crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci) in 1893, and habitat changes occasioned by dam construction, drainage, and dredging. Circa 1984, only 20 of 74 major watercourses of Finland, which formerly held crayfish, remained unaffected by the plague. At its peak, the Finnish catch amounted to about 20 million crayfish. In 1900, exportation reached its height of about 15.5 million, making Finland Europe's most important exporter of this crustacean. But in recent years the catch has amounted to only a few million, and in 1973, exports dropped to 21 300 crayfish, a severe economic loss. Meanwhile, imports of crayfish for consumption, which commenced in 1967, have increased and now exceed exportation. In 1982, importation totalled 1.78 million individuals while exports were only 155 000. (Most of the imports are from Turkey.) In 1984, the native crayfish catch in Finland was estimated at about 1.5 million individuals with a value of Fmk 10.5 million (US$ 1.7 million). The extent of the littoral zone, the primary habitat of crayfish, is very large in Finland, and many studies have been conducted to counteract the loss.

Attempts to restore the native populations through restocking have not been very successful, and since 1967, Finland has imported the plague-resistant American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) to augment its stocks. This crayfish has developed self-supporting stocks in some Finnish lakes, and attempts have been made to produce juveniles for stocking.

7.1 Capture Fisheries

Finland's official catch record statistics are segregated as follows: (i) professional fishermen; (ii) semi-professional fishermen, and (iii) non-professional fishermen¹.

¹ Official catch record statistics for Finland, compiled by the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, appear in Suomen Kalatalous and Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikirja. They have been collected since 1962 using basically the same methods: primary data are collected by the fisherman and surveys made by the Government (Rantala, 1983). A decided change in the sampling frame was, however, made in 1986. See section 7.1.2

Using another and more detailed classification by Munne (1982), his classes are further defined as follows:

1. Professional fishermen.

   1. Full-time fishermen (the “professional” of the official statistics) who fish the year round and obtain over 50 percent of their income from fishing;

   2. Part-time fishermen (the “semi-professional” of the official statistics) whose fishing is usually seasonal and who merely supplement their income through fishing;

2. Non-professional fishermen (same category as in the official statistics) who sell their catches only occasionally, if at all.

   1. Subsistence fishermen who fish for domestic use and whose fish catches may be an important contribution to their food supply. They fish with gillnets, seines, traps and weirs, ice-fish and angle;

   2. Recreational fishermen (the “sport fishermen” of most classifications) who fish in their leisure time, are not concerned with the economic value of their catch, and whose fishing expenses exceed the value of their catches. They mostly angle (fly included), or fish with weirs or gillnets. Their fishing is usually based on ownership of an estate, especially if they fish with weirs or nets.

Putting it in another way, or to use more universal terms, the “professional and semi-professional” (whether full-time or part-time) fishermen of Finland constitute what are generally known as “commercial” fishermen, while the finnish term “non-professional” lumps two categories which are often separated: “subsistence” and “recreational or sport” fishermen. Table 12 shows the statistical separation of the three classes in Finland in 1986: 4 639 commercial fishermen in the Baltic Sea and 2 245 commercial fishermen in fresh water, 328 758 non-professionals in the Sea and 1 195 387 in fresh water.

Despite the afore-mentioned criteria of Munne (1982) for distinguishing between subsistence and recreational fishermen, Salojärvi and Lehtonen (1982) have pointed out that in practise it is very difficult to separate these two classes. Furthermore, although Finland's system of tabulating catch records lumps the catches of subsistence and recreational fishermen, the statistics in FAO's Fishery Yearbooks theoretically include commercial and subsistence catches, but exclude recreational or sport catches. This makes it difficult to use either Finnish or FAO Yearbook catch statistics when comparing Finland's catch with that of many other European countries.

Although the most accurate presentations of the Finnish “inland” catch are the tables appearing in Suomen Kalatalous or in Finland's Statistical Yearbook, Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikirja, their wealth of detail does not permit reproducing all of them to show the Finnish catch during the 1965–87 period. I have, therefore, continued the practise of using FAO compilations for this period (see Tables 10 and 11). Table 10 shows the catches in the inland waters of Finland and - as has been necessary - with some of the other countries in this review - Table 11 shows the catch as compiled by FAO in a marine statistical area (here one that includes the Baltic) in order to cover the catch of freshwater, brackish, and diadromous fishes whose life cycle may include residence in both a freshwater and marine milieu. The addition of the marine table makes a decided difference in the total catch of Finnish waters of species generally considered to be fluvial. For example, in 1986 (the last year in which Table 11 has complete figures), over one-third of the catch of bream and orfe and about one-fourth of the catch of roach was made in the sea, the catch of Coregonus lavaretus in the sea exceeded that in fresh water, and the catch of pike-perch in the sea was over twice that in fresh water. (See also Table 12 for somewhat similar figures.)

While such facts are useful, the reader must clearly understand that these tables derived from FAO usually seem to include the entire catch of inland (freshwater and brackish) fishes in Finland, i.e., commercial, subsistence and sport, plus from 1978 on the production of food fish through aquaculture. For example, as will be seen below, in 1975 and 1977, FAO recorded only the catch of wild trout. In support of this statement, note that FAO (Tables 10 and 11) show that a total of 368 t of trout were caught in Finland in 1975, 272 t in inland waters and 96 t in the sea. The printed FAO Yearbooks of Fishery Statistics call these fish “trouts” although FISHDAB calls them “rainbow trout”. The tonnage of trout caught in Finland in 1975 in both fresh water and in the sea, as recorded by official Finnish sources (Suomen Kalatalous (48) published 1978), agrees with the FAO statistics, except that the catch was specified as brown trout, and made by all classes of fishermen. Furthermore, in addition to these fish in the capture fishery, Finland/EIFAC (1977) states that 1 800 t of cultivated rainbow trout (150 t from brackish water) were produced in Finland in 1975. A similar picture is noted in 1977 where FAO (Tables 10 and 11) records a catch of only 361 t of trout (FISHDAB again calling them “rainbow”) from both fresh and salt water, with Suomen Kalatalous (48) agreeing as to the amount of catch, but specifying that it includes the catch of sport fishermen and terming the fish brown trout. Moreover, the FAO statistics for 1977 again fail to list Finland's aquacultural production of trout, which amounted to over 2 400 t of rainbow trout according to Westman and Tuunainen (1978).

Starting in 1978, FAO's statistical report on the total trout “catch” of all species seemed for a while to agree with official Finnish statistics in including both the catch from the capture fishery and aquacultural production. For example, in 1978, FAO listed a catch of 2 646 t of rainbow trout from inland waters and 930 t of rainbow trout from the sea for a total of 3 576 t. Suomen Kalatalous (49) listed capture fishery catches of 253 t of trout from fresh waters and 121 t of trout from the sea plus an aquacultural production of 2 396 t from fresh water and 809 t from brackish water or a grand total of 3 579 t, very close to FAO's total for 1978. However, the FAO statistics were still incorrect in lumping the so-called “catch” of two quite different species, rainbow trout (aquacultural production), and brown trout (capture fishery) and terming this “catch” as rainbow.

Table 10

Nominal catches in the inland waters of Finland, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980–87 (in tons)

^a The first common name is that used by FAO in its Yearbook of Fishery Statistics, the second is that generally used in Finish Governmental publications where English is employed. The catch statistics for these two species of coregonids for 1965–69 were listed incorrectly by FAO (see below): those for C. albula being listed for those of C. lavaretus and vice versa. They have been corrected here

^b FISHDAB lists this catch as “rainbow trout” in the inland waters of Finland for the period 1977–83, and does not list “trouts” during this period. However, some of the FAO Yearbooks of Fishery Statistics list only “trouts” as an inland “catch” in Finland from 1965 at least through 1982

- : This category not listed this year

... : Not available

0 : Probably nil, negligible or insignificant; or less than 50 t during 1965–73; or less than half a ton during later years

F : FAO estimate, except for rainbow trout

Source: 1965–69 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 36 (Publ. 1974)
1970–83 FAO Fish.Dept.Fishery Statistics Database (FISHDAB)
1984–87 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 64 (Publ. 1989)

Table 11

Nominal catches of freshwater and diadromous species in Marine Statistical Fishing Area 27 - Northeast Atlantic, by Finland, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980–87 (in tons)

^a The first common name is that used by FAO in its Yearbook of Fishery Statistics, the second is that generally used in Finish Governmental publications where English is employed. The catch statistics for these two species of coregonids for 1965–69 were listed incorrectly by FAO (see below): those for C. albula being listed for those of C. lavaretus and vice versa. They have been corrected here

^b FISHDAB lists the “catch” as “rainbow trout” for the period 1977–83, as does Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 64 for the period of 1984–87, although the earlier FAO Yearbooks of Fishery Statistics list only “trouts” from 1965 at least through 1976. The term “sea trout” for Finland's catch in Statistical Fishing Area 27 does not appear in the early FAO Yearbooks

- : This category not listed this year

... : Not available

0: Probably nil, negligible or insignificant; or less than 50 t during 1965–73; or less than half a ton during later years

F: FAO estimate, except for rainbow trout

Source: 1965–69 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 36 (Publ. 1974)
1970–83 FAO Fish.Dept.Fishery Statistics Database (FISHDAB)
1984–87 Yearb.Fish.Stat.FAO, 64 (Publ. 1989)

Again, comparison of the total FAO statistics for the catch of all trout (including sea trout) in Finland for 1986 (Tables 10 and 11) which add up to 11 593 t, show reasonably close agreement with the official Finnish statistics (Tables 12 and 15) which include a capture fishery catch of 889 t of brown trout and an aquacultural production of 10 913 t of rainbow trout totalling 11 802 t. Again, however, one should note that the so-called total “catch” of all trouts recorded by FAO confused two species of trout and included the sport fishing catch.

Such examples can be multiplied, and further reasons for surmising lacks in the FAO fishery statistics for Finland were given in Dill (1976) and need not be repeated here¹. It is hoped that such discrepancies in the statistics can eventually be resolved. However, in the meantime, it is strongly advised that one seek out original statistical data emanating directly from Finland in order to follow the course of its fisheries. These will provide much more accurate and easily interpretable data on: the origin of the catch, its distribution among different classes of fishermen, and its exact species composition. Tables 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 represent recent original and official Finnish fishery statistics.

¹ Excessive rounding of figures during 1965–73 is another fault of the FAO tables for Finland

Table 12 shows the catch both from the sea and fresh water in 1986, derived from one of the latest tables prepared by the Finnish Government. Unlike the tabulations derived from FAO, this table relates only to the capture fishery and does not contain production from Finnish aquaculture (see section 7.2).

With respect to the origin of the catch of freshwater and diadromous fish, it is obvious from Table 12 that the great majority of this group were caught in fresh water, and still within this group it was only in the commercial fishery that the catch at sea exceeded (and then only barely) that in fresh waters².

² In 1986, the total catch of freshwater and diadromous fish amounted to 39 650 t in fresh water and 13 367 t in the sea. The commercial catch of this group was 5 536 t in fresh water and 5 680 t in the sea. (The marine fish excluded from these calculations are: herring, sprat, cod and flounder.)

With respect to the distribution of the catch among classes of fishermen, the table shows that in fresh water an overwhelming part of the catch (86 percent) was made by non-professional fishermen, and even in the sea, 57 percent of the catch of freshwater and diadromous fishes was made by nonprofessionals.

In 1986, of the total catch of freshwater and diadromous fish in fresh waters, 65 percent of the catch was composed of three species in this order: European perch, pike and vendace (Coregonus albula). By adding the catch of roach, freshwater bream, whitefish (C. lavaretus), and burbot to the list, we find that seven species (of five families) provided almost 93 percent of the total inland catch of 39 650 t. Within the Finnish sea fisheries for the same period, 52 percent of the catch of “inland” fish were perch, whitefish and pike, in that order. By adding the catch of the next four species in descending order of catch (Atlantic salmon, roach, bream and pike-perch), we find that seven species of five families make up 83 percent of the total sea catch of 13 367 t of freshwater and diadromous fishes.

As in most European countries, much attention in Finland has been directed toward its Atlantic salmon fishery, but today the stock is sparse and the catch is low. Baltic salmon, a geographically isolated stock of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are not taxonomically discriminated, and the salmon in the Gulf of Finland appear to from a stock with little migration into the Baltic proper. The Finnish salmon from the streams entering the Arctic Ocean from another group. Fluctuation in the Finnish populations in the Baltic rivers were similar to those in other Baltic streams: catches were high at the end of the Nineteenth Century, low in the 1900–45 period, high in 1945–50, and low again thereafter (Lind, 1982a).

Table 12

Capture fishery (total catches) in Finland, 1986^a (in tons)

^a The data are based on the answers to inquiries concerning 1986 made by the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute.

Source: Finland/EIFAC (1989). This or a similar table will be published in Suomen Kalatalous (57) as: Leinonen, K., H. Lehtonen and M. Hildén (1990), Virkistys - ja Kotitarvekalastus Suomessa vuonna 1986 (Recreational and subsistence fisheries in Finland in 1986)

At one time, Finland had a considerable number of salmon streams extending along its entire coast, but only a few are left now. A survey of 47 of Finland's salmon and trout rivers (Hurme, 1966) found that natural salmon and trout stock had died off in 15 rivers by damming, drainage, flood control, timber-floating and over-fishing. Lind (1982a) shows the major salmon streams of Finland to be only the Tornionjoki (shared with Sweden), Kemijoki, lijoki, Oulujoki, Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki in the Baltic drainage, and the Tenojoki (shared with Norway) in the Arctic drainage. However, only the Tornionjoki and Tenojoki were unaffected by hydroelectric use as late as 1980, and there is little production in the other streams. Toivonen (1983) said that only two out of 20 Finnish salmon streams on the Baltic still produce natural smolts, and his Figure 1 shows only the following as “current” Finnish salmon rivers: the Tornionjoki and Simojaki in the Baltic, and the Tenojoki and Näätätämönjoki in the Arctic. Virtanen (1988) confirms the statement that only the first two rivers still produce Baltic salmon smolts, and Jutila (1990) states that the last river within Finnish borders which retains its original naturally spawning stock is the Simijoki.

The Tenojoki is the best salmon stream in both Finland and Norway. During the 1972–77 period, the total salmon catch from the Finnish and Norwegian sides of this boundary river varied between 117 t and 250 t, being highest in 1975. Finland's average share of the total salmon catch has been about a third. Landowner families on the Finnish side can fish with nets. Visiting sport fishermen can fish only by angling, and in 1977 took more than half of the Finnish salmon catch (Toivonen and Heikinheimo-Schmid, 1979)¹.

¹ See section 7.1 in the review on Norway for more information on the Tenojoki (Tana)

Up to about the end of the Nineteenth Century, Baltic salmon were traditionally taken in the rivers as they ascended to spawn, but only about five percent of them are now taken here. Coastal fishing using fixed gear was dominant in the Baltic up to the middle of the Century, but offshore fishing using drifting gear for feeding salmon is dominant today, accounting for about 80 percent of the catch. The Finnish offshore catch in the Baltic and its Gulfs has varied between 291 t and 502 t during 1969 and 1978 (Larsson, 1980). In 1987, the Finnish commercial salmon catch in the sea was only 817 t and the commercial inland catch was 11 t. The overall value of the salmon catch was high, however, running about third highest in the sea fishery and sixth in the total fishery. Longlines and drift nets are used in the Baltic, and in the few salmon rivers that are left, short bank weirs, floating gillnets, seines and brails are used. The majority of the salmon harvested in the Baltic in their growing areas are at a size of 3–4 kg, i.e., before the size or age of maturity. There is some evidence that in addition to damage done through destruction of their spawning grounds, that the salmon have been affected by fluctuations in the humic quality of the Baltic waters and move to more saline waters. The freeflowing rivers of the Arctic, with good water quality and low exploitation in the growing areas, still produce good catches.

It has been estimated that the salmon rivers flowing to the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia once produced about 7 million salmon smolts (Ikonen and Pruuki, 1990). Larsson (1980) estimated that this natural production had fallen to 350 000 in 1970, the same figure being reiterated in various Finnish publications through 1984, e.g., Westman et al. (1984). Ikonen and Pruuki (1990) say that the production is now less than one-half million. Finland now rears salmon smolts for stocking the Baltic. Reared Finnish salmon smolt and fingerling production was 672 000 individuals in 1980, and 922,000 in 1981 (Eskelinen, 1983). In 1983, stockings of salmon were initiated in the Kemijoki and Iijoki to compensate for losses caused by damming these rivers. Five to six million artificially raised salmon smolts are now released in the mouths of the rivers entering the Baltic (Ikonen and Pruuki, 1990). The salmon stocking is augmented by stocking other fishes harmed by river development: sea and brown trout, whitefish and grayling. (For additional information on Baltic salmon, see the review on Sweden.)

Sea trout (Salmo trutta) were once found in about 50 Finnish rivers flowing into the Baltic, but as a result of powerplant construction and pollution have also declined (Hurme, 1966). Today, smolts are released in an effort to compensate for the loss. Observations indicate that sea trout favour the less saline parts of the sea and are not as home-oriented as salmon.

The smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) is caught in small quantities in both the sea and in fresh waters. Most of the Finnish commercial catch is taken from the Bothnian Gulf.

Coregonids are caught in much larger numbers in Finland than either salmonids or osmerids, and their catch is much more valuable monetarily. Of the two principal coregonids, the highly important vendace (Coregonus albula)) has the highest overall catch, as well as the highest in inland waters. Studies on this species and its status have been summarized by Auvinen et al. (1990).

The other principal coregonid, the whitefish (C. lavaretus) has the highest catch in the sea¹. The two species ranked fourth and third in value in the entire catch of both marine and inland fishes in 1981. In the Baltic, vendace inhabit areas of low salinity usually near the mouths of rivers. Gillnets are the most important gear for whitefish, while vendace are captured mainly by trawl and trapnet.

¹ According to Svärdson (1957) there are five different coregonids in Finland, and Lehtonen (1981) says that there are three coregonids in the Finnish Baltic: sea-spawning whitefish (Coregonus widegreni), river-spawning whitefish (C. lavaretus), and the vendace (C. albula). He also says that the sea-spawning form is also called C. nasus. Various other coregonid species are listed by other authors as resident in Finland, and a recently completed stock registry for Finnish coregonids contains information on 181 coregonid stocks (Kallio-Nyberg and Koljonen, 1988). However, the official Finnish catch record statistics distinguish only between C. lavaretus and C. albula

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) populations have never been dense in Finland, probably because of its northerly location and distance from the Atlantic. There was, however, a small eel fishery in Baltic rivers until the main rivers were closed in the 1930s. Unprofitable to obtain eels from Baltic river mouths because of the small numbers available, both elvers and young yellow eels have been obtained from abroad and stocked in Finland. During the 1960–79 period there was a mean annual stocking of 830 000 individuals, 94 percent elvers and 6 percent small yellow eels. Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Scotland have been sources, and the Finnish eel fishery has been almost totally dependent upon these introduced fish because dams on the larger rivers have prevented natural migration into lakes. Since 1976, the eel catch has been included in official Finnish catch statistics. In that year, the total catch of eels was 28 t; about 19 t from the Baltic coast and 9 t from inland waters. About 22 t were taken by non-professional fishermen and 6 t by commercial fishermen. The Finnish eel catch reached a total of 79 t in 1980 (63 t in inland waters), but has since descended to only 29 t in 1982, 38 t in 1983 and 56 t in 1986. Since 1979, stocking has been low because of the risk of spreading a communicable viral disease through elvers, and undersized yellow eels cannot be introduced due to new legislation by exporting countries (see Pursianen and Toivonen, 1984).

There is also a small fishery for the lampern (Lampetra fluviatilis), the last remaining anadromous species in Finland which it is possible to catch in large numbers running up rivers. Thirty-three rivers are known to support spawning populations. At the beginning of the 1970s, the lampern catch was estimated at 2.7–3.0 million individuals or 130 t. In 1983, the lampern catch was about 100 t, consisting of 2.3–2.4 million individuals. The value of the 1983, catch was estimated at Fmk 4.3 million (US$ 800 000). Environmental changes in rivers have caused damage to the lampern fishery, but successful attempts have been made to transport spawners over dams (lkonen et al., 1983).

Aside from the fishes mentioned above, the European perch and pike deserve special attention as the species generally ranking as highest in tonnage caught in inland waters. The perch is found throughout Finland especially in small lakes and ponds, where it is the most abundant species. The pike, second in abundance in small lakes, is overwhelmingly the most valuable fish monetarily in total freshwater catch, being challenged only by the value of the vendace catch. The pike-perch is also an important fish, occurring in both fresh water and in more or less separate populations along the Finnish coast. The species, which favours turbid water, is both a good food and game fish. Finnish trends in its research and status are described by Lehtonen (1990).

7.1.1 Commercial fishing

As has been pointed out above, commercial fishing in Finland includes both “professional” and “semi-professional” (part-time) fishermen who catch fish for sale and profit.

Table 13 is a review of the catch in the freshwater commercial fishery in Finland during the 1964–85 period. The statistics in Table 12 show the freshwater commercial catch in Finland in 1986, and Table 14 shows the freshwater commercial fishery catch in Finland in 1987.

With respect to freshwater alone in Finland in 1986, about 2 245 commercial fishermen took about 5 336 t or 13 percent of the entire freshwater catch of 39 650 t, the latter being about onequarter of the entire catch by the capture fishery in that year. The total commercial catch from Finnish inland waters in 1986 was valued at about Fmk 43 million or US$ 8.5 million (Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al., 1988). About 67 percent of this was due to the vendace catch. The commercial catch of freshwater and diadromous fish in the sea in 1986 amounted to 5 680 t and the total commercial catch of these fish in Finland in 1986 amounted to 11 016 t or almost 10 percent of the entire commercial catch in Finland in 1986.

Table 13

Inland (freshwater) commercial fishery in Finland, 1964, 1970, 1975, 1980–85 (in tons)

Source: Suomen Kalatalous 1989 (55)

According to OECD (1989), all commercial species of fish in Finland are now fully exploited.

7.1.2 Recreational (sport) and subsistence fishing

As has been emphasized, it is difficult to erect firm lines between recreational and subsistence fishermen in Finland, and their catches are grouped together in official Finnish statistics as “nonprofessional”.

True subsistence fishing in Finland is greatest in northern Lapland where about one-third of the people are directly dependent upon natural resources for a livelihood: keeping reindeer, gathering berries, hunting, and fishing. But, throughout the country an early aim was to establish self-supporting households. Most farmers owned fields and forests and had fishing rights owned jointly by the landowners of a village. Consequently, subsistence fisheries have traditionally had a strong position in Finland and completely full-time fishermen are comparatively rare in inland waters. (In 1986, there were only 350 full-time fishermen in Finnish fresh waters, taking only about seven percent of the total freshwater catch.) However, the role of subsistence fishing is now declining. The fishing activity of inhabitants of large communes is less than that of those living in small communes, and people who own summer homes may fish more recreationally than for subsistence. Urban development, decrease in the number of people earning their living from agriculture and forestry, and migration to the cities has changed the picture. Concommitantly there has been a rise in the number of recreational fishermen who own no fishing waters or fishing rights.

Table 14

Commercial fishery in Finland, 1987 (in tons)^a

^a The data are based mainly on the reports of professional fishermen to the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute

Source: Finland/EIFAC (1989) - this or a similar table will be published in Suomen Kalatalous

One of the important duties of Finnish fishing organizations is to obtain fishing facilities for their members and to advertise accessible fishing waters. The organizations have, therefore, published guidebooks to the fishing waters offered by private owners. They have also tried to expand fishing rights, feeling that people who live in an industrialized society should have free access to the recreation offered by woods, the countryside, and fishing waters. These attempts to expand such opportunities have, however, been hampered by private ownership and the uneven distribution of fishing waters. For example, a survey of 1978 indicated that 35 percent of the non-professional fishermen owned fishing waters (Lehtonen and Salojärvi, 1983). Circa 1982, less than 10 percent of the Finnish recreational fishermen belonged to a fishing organization (Munne, 1982). See section 8 on ownership of fishing areas and fishing organizations.

By 1978 the number of subsistence and recreational fishermen in Finland numbered about 810 000, and if one takes into consideration the number who did not need a fishing card (general fishing licence), the number can be estimated at one million or about one-fifth of the country's population (Lehtonen and Salojärvi, 1983). Earlier estimates have boosted this number to two million at times (Salojärvi and Lehtonen, 1982).

It must be noted that up to 1986, the sampling frame consisted only of those households which purchased a general fishing license sold by the State. However, as Finnish fishing law permits certain groups to fish without this license, the old frame was not complete, and estimates of the total number of recreational and subsistence fishermen were biased¹. Therefore, starting in 1986, the central register of population was used as the sampling frame. This consists of every Finn who lives permanently in Finland and the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute is now sure that the 1986 estimate (Table 12) represents all fishermen who fished in that year. Previous results are not directly comparable (personal communication from M. Hildén and K. Leionen, 20 April 1990).

¹ A person under 16 years of age and an angler fishing with natural bait within his own municipality or commune does not require this licence (see section 8). In 1978, the total number of general fishing licences purchased by Finnish households was 481 603 (Lehtonen and Salojärvi, 1983)

Questionnaires indicated that by 1970, about 68 percent of the fishermen were fishing for recreation. Subsistence fishing further declined by 1975 when the number of recreational fishermen rose to about 80 percent. Recreational or sport fishing is now considered to be the most popular leisure time activity in Finland. Among the sport and subsistence fishermen, anglers were the largest group of fishermen in 1982, but the number of gillnets in use exceeded the number of rods and more than half the total catch by this group was taken with gillnets. As in Sweden, unlike a good many countries, “sport fishing” in Finland is not synonymous with “angling”.

The general trend in the subsistence and recreational catch in Finland has been upward. In fresh water during the 1959–77 period, this annual catch averaged 14 943 t (range, 12 205 t in 1965 to 18 070 t in 1962), constituting 63–88 percent of the total freshwater catch during this period. In brackish water, the catch of subsistence and recreational fishermen increased from 1 643 t in 1953 to 8 754 t in 1981 (see Salojärvi and Lehtonen, 1982).

In the latest detailed account of this fishery (Lehtonen, et al., 1988) it was noted that although 21 percent of the fishermen in 1981 fished solely with rods, over 70 percent of the catch was taken with nets and traps. It was also noted that the total catch of recreational and subsistence fishermen in 1981 was 33 137 t, the inland catch being three-quarters of the total. The mean catch per household in 1981 amounted to 75.5 kg. About 30 000 t of the catch was eaten, 882 t was used as animal feed, 1 465 t was thrown away, and 1 029 t was used in some other way.

If the economic value of the recreational and subsistence fishery of Finland were calculated according to the value of the commercial catch, the total value of this fishery in 1975 would have been Fmk 85.5 million (US$ 21.3 million) or 45 percent of the value of the entire Finnish catch of Fmk 188 million (US$ 46.8 million). However, the recreational and subsistence fishermen of Finland spent about Fmk 144 million (US$ 36 million) pursuing their fishery, exceeding the value of the Finnish commercial catch in that year of Fmk 103.4 million or US$ 25.8 million. In 1978, the money spent on subsistence and recreational fisheries in Finland was about Fmk 350 million, well exceeding the estimated value of the entire catch (Fmk 281.5 million) by all classes of fishermen.

Using later figures (Table 12), and in summation, in 1986, about 1.2 million Finns (or one-quarter of the entire population) were so-called recreational and subsistence fishermen in inland waters. Perch and pike were by far the most important species (by weight) in their catch. Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al., (1988), probably using incomplete figures, stated that the 1986 recreational and subsistence catch in inland waters was 23 600 t, estimated in value as Fmk 161 million or US$ 32 million. Accepting the figures in Table 12 as being more accurate, the inland recreational and subsistence catch in inland waters in that year was closer to 34 114 t or 86 percent of the total inland catch. If the value of the catch per kilogramme remained constant, then the recreational and subsistence catch in inland waters had a value of about Fmk 232.7 million or about US$ 46 million.

The value of the total catch of 39 650 t in 1986 in inland waters by all classes of fishermen was about Fmk 280 million or US$ 55.2 million of the value of the total catch made in Finland that year.

7.2 Aquaculture

Aquaculture in Finland, for either consumption or stocking in open waters, is limited to cold or cool water species. The only fish species really cultivated for consumption is rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and its cultivation is a relatively new development. (A few attempts have been made to develop the farming of Baltic salmon in brackishwater net cages.) In 1973, there were about 50–60 commercial fish farms in Finland which cultivated rainbow trout for food, and the total amount marketed annually was about 1 500 t. Cage farming of rainbow trout in brackish water produced over 100 t in Finland in 1974. By 1977, more than 2 400 t of rainbow trout were raised at 50–60 farms with 300 t raised in brackish water (Westman and Tuunainen, 1978). The production in later years (1978–87) is shown in Table 15. It reached 12 678 t in 1987, about one-third fresh water and two-thirds in brackish (see also section 9.3 for FES figures).

Although net-cage farms have become more numerous in Finland in recent years, about 90 percent are run in brackish coastal waters and in 1988 there were only 19 inland net-cage units, the largest being situated on large rivers rather than on lakes. Freshwater cages occupied only 140 ha, compared with 380 ha of coastal cages, and in 1988 their annual production was less than 700 t.

Table 15

Production of cultivated trout in Finland, 1978–87^a

^a Over 99 percent of the production was rainbow trout; the rest was salmon, brown trout, coregonids, bream and pike

^b Same owners separate farms counted as separate entities

^c Farms represented: 76 (1978), 108 (1980), 293 (1982), 335 (1984), 361 (1986), and 381 (1987)

Source: Suomen Kalatalous (49), Publ. 1980, Suomen Kalatalous (50), Publ. 1983, and Suomen Kalatalous (53), Publ. 1988, for 1978, 1980 and 1982 data.
Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al., (1986, 1988) for 1984 and 1986 data.
Finland/EIFAC (1989) for 1987 data

Domestic dry feeds for both rainbow trout and other salmonids have been available in Finland for some years. They are compounded of imported fish meals and oil and local cereals. Low value fish such as roach, smelt, or Baltic herring are also used as feed, especially in net ponds in brackish water, but the use of herring is decreasing because of the possibility of transferring disease. There is a regular Governmental inspection for disease. Rainbow trout are marketed in Finland mainly as three-summerolds at a weight of 0.5–1 kg.

It will be noted that the value of the 1986 production of trout (Fmk 246 million or US$ 48 million, according to Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al., 1988) was about six times the value of the entire commercial catch from inland waters. FAO Fish. Info. Data and Stat. Serv. (1989), which agrees generally with this value for the aquacultural production of Finnish trout in 1986, estimates the value of the 1987 production to be US$ 66.4 million.

Fish are also cultivated in Finland for stocking. In fact, extensive fish stocking programmes form the main part of the management of economically important fish stocks, and is increasing because of compensation stocking in the largest dammed salmonid rivers and in lakes where the water level is regulated. State-owned fish farms and farms owned by fishery societies direct their efforts chiefly to the production of salmonid smolts and coregonids, but in recent years, 21 species (15 native and 6 exotic) have been stocked in Finland, primarily Baltic and land-locked salmon, sea trout and brown trout, rainbow trout, grayling, several species of coregonids, pike, pike-perch, perch, bream, orfe, carp and crayfish. Eels have also been stocked, and there has been some transfer stocking of lampern and crayfish. Fish for stocking are produced intensively in land-based fish farms (mostly salmonids) or extensively in large ponds with a natural food supply (mostly coregonids, grayling, pike, pike-perch, and some cyprinids). Since 1951, it has been customary to raise brown trout to two years and coregonids to one summer and some fish are even raised for a longer period before stocking. Some of the newer farms use heated water from power plants.

Table 16 provides a summary of recent stocking (1987) showing that 48 523 000 finfish (excluding newly hatched larvae) were produced for this purpose. Of these, it will be seen that (roughly) whitefish constituted 60 percent of the total, followed by Atlantic salmon (10 percent), brown and sea trout (9 percent), pike-perch (6 percent), Coregonus peled (4 percent), and grayling (4 percent). The stocking is obviously dominated by coregonids.

The value of the stocked fish production in 1987 is unknown to the author, but Heikinheimo-Schmid, et al. (1988) states that a production in Finland of 52 million (excluding newly hatched juveniles) in 1986 had a value of Fmk 80 million (US$ 16 million).

Indications are that such stocking is profitable in areas where natural reproduction has been destroyed, and - in some cases - when exotic species are used. In waters where species are already reproducing well, stocking is not significantly important. As in other countries, the size of the fish stocked is increasing.