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RECREATIONAL FISHERIES IN LITHUANIA
Putting Lithuania on the Map of Recreational Fishing in Europe
The 4th World Recreational Fishing Conference
Trondheim, Norway
12-16 June, 2005
Algirdas Domarkas
The Union of Pisciculturists
Lithuania
Eglė Radaitytė
Lithuanian State Pisciculture
and Fisheries Research Centre
Lithuania
The goal of the presentation is to introduce the field of
recreational fisheries in Lithuania, which has been going
through dynamic changes in recent years.
The presentation will discuss:

Angling in Lithuania;

Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing (data
collected from actual surveys: Attitudes Towards Fishing,
Money Spent on Fishing and Non-Observance of Fishing
Rules);

Future of Recreational Fisheries.
Angling in Lithuania
Angling has always been one of the most popular leisure pursuits in
Lithuania. This is not surprising, as four percent (2,639 square km) of the
country’s territory is covered by water and, in addition, there is the Baltic
Sea coast and the Curonian Lagoon, which are popular fishing locations as
well.
Picture 1. River Basins in Lithuania
Angling in Lithuania
However, there has always been the common misconception that the
development of recreational fishing and the introduction of fishing tourism
could have no positive effect to increase fish stocks and assist conservation.
Photo: T.Kolesinskas
It is only now after some research and the involvement of non-governmental
organisations that the full potential can be seen.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Attitudes Towards Fishing”
 The survey “Attitudes Towards Fishing” was conducted by Vilmorus, a
market research company, on behalf of the Alliance of Associations
“Žuvininkų Rūmai” (The Chamber of Pisciculturists, NGO, Lithuania) in
2002. The finding was that approximately 1.5 million (or 55 percent) of
Lithuanian citizens quite often take fishing rods and spend their leisure
time by the rivers and lakes. Angling is well liked for 8 males out of 10
and 3-4 females out of 10.
Fishing
population
45.0%
55.0%
34.5%
Males
Non-fishing
population
Females
78.4%
Picture 2. Percentage of fishing population.
Picture 3. Fishing population by sex.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
 The survey showed that recreational fishing was the most popular among
people of between 18 and 30 years of age. This is characteristic to 7 out of 10 of
survey participants. It is interesting to note, that the age of angling enthusiasts
correlates with the hobby: with age increasing, the comparative weight of
fishermen tends to go down.
60+ yrs
35,1%
50-59 yrs
64,9%
59,5%
40,5%
40-49 yrs
64,0%
36,0%
30-39 yrs
65,3%
34,7%
18-29 yrs
71,3%
0%
20%
40%
Fishing population
Non-fishing population
28,7%
60%
80%
100%
Picture 4. Age indicators of fishing population (2002).
 Consequently, fishing as a way of recreation can be linked with employable
age: 2 out of 3 respondents of working age enjoy angling, while this type of
recreation loses its attraction in the retirement age, with merely 1 out of 3 of
surveyed pensioners taking their fishing rods and spending time by the rivers
and lakes.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Attitudes Towards Fishing”
 Speaking about financial conditions of living, they are related with
fisheries in several different ways: 6 out of 10 persons with low income
(up to 200 Litas per household member or approximately 58 Euros) seek
financial benefit, i.e., a source of income, rather than relaxation in
angling.
501+ LTL
~145+ EUR
301-500 LTL
~89-145 EUR
201-300 LTL
~58-89 EUR
Under 200 LTL
~58 EUR
0%
66,67%
33,33%
52,44%
47,56%
Fishing population
Non-fishing population
43,73%
56,27%
61,07%
20%
40%
38,93%
60%
80%
100%
Picture 5. Income indicators of fishing population (2002).
Increasing income changes motivation of angling considerably.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Money Spent on Fishing”
The survey “Money Spent on Fishing” carried out in 2003 showed that
one angler in Lithuania spent an average of 140 Litas (approximately 40.5
Euros) on angling needs per surveyed year.
1.40%
Men
31.86%
Fishing population spending
money on fishing
Fishing population who have
fishing expenses covered by
others
1.03%
Women 3.95%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Picture 6. Distribution of fishing expenses by sex (2003).
Without any doubt, men spend money on fishing needs more often (or
they get more fishing rods as gifts) than women do. Some 33.3 percent of
men and merely 5.0 percent of women spend money on fishing.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Money Spent on Fishing”
 Young people tend to spend money on their fishing needs more often,
with the indicator reaching 29 percent in the age group of 15-19 years.
Persons of 75 and more years of age have least angling-related expenses.
75+ yrs 2.74%
60-74 yrs
8.51%
50-59 yrs
19.33%
2.00%
40-49 yrs
19.19%
1.52%
30-39 yrs
Fishing population spending money
on fishing
Fishing population who have fishing
expenses covered by others
22.62%
20-29 yrs
15-19 yrs
0.78%
21.71%
28.40%
0%
10%
20%
7.41%
30%
40%
Picture 7. Distribution of fishing expenses by age (2003).
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Money Spent on Fishing”
 By income per member of a household, the highest percentage of
persons having fishing expenses was in the group with over 500 Litas of
income per month (21.6 percent) and among those with under 200 Litas
of monthly income (19.3 percent).
501+ LTL
1.27%
20.25%
~145+ EUR
17.20%
301-500 LTL
~89-145 EUR
14.18%
201-300 LTL
Fishing population spending money
on fishing
1.06%
Fishing population who have fishing
expenses covered by others
0.36%
~58-89 EUR
16.94%
Under 200 LTL
~58 EUR
0%
5%
10%
2.42%
15%
20%
25%
Picture 8. Income indicators of fishing population (2003).
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
“Non-Observance of Fishing Rules”
 Meanwhile, the main barrier for the development of recreational
fisheries still is illegal fishing, which mostly affects the fish stocks of
small water bodies.
The survey “Non-Observance of Fishing Rules” conducted in 2004
indicates that Lithuanian citizens had severely breached fishing
regulations on up to 0.7 million occasions per year.
According to the results of the survey, fishing regulations were violated
on ~4.86 million occasions over the year. The survey cannot be
considered as highly precise. Sociologists have noted years ago that
people tend to lie when asked about disgraceful issues. If an activity is
seen as not fully acceptable, respondents are likely to varnish such data.
Poaching is not listed as a virtue, so the actual figures referring to
violations of fishing regulations may be even bigger.
Social and Economic Value of Recreational Fishing
 As a rule, young people under the age of 29, especially pupils and
students, are more likely to breach fishing rules than the older
population. This implies that failure to take efficient measures might lead
to yet higher number of violations in the sector.
6,67%
13,96%
34,17%
up to 29 yrs
30-39 yrs
40-49 yrs
50-59 yrs
20,21%
60+ yrs
25,00%
Picture 10. Age indicators of fishing population who have breached fishing rules
(2004).
According to the data published in Lithuanian media, environmental
agencies solved 4,462 violations of fishing rules in 2003 and imposed
fines of 183 Litas (approx 53 Euros) on an average. A comparison of
the survey’s data with results provided by fisheries agencies, merely 1
or 0.1 percent of 1,000 violations of fisheries regulations are solved in
the country.
Future of Recreational Fisheries
All the above-mentioned figures indicate that the current
polarisation of freshwater fisheries towards small-sized
commercial fishing has no future and might doom anglers to years
of poverty.
One of the ways out is the redirection of the industry branch
towards recreational fisheries and fishing tourism.
In a number of countries, the branch of industry is listed as state
priority and granted relevant funding, mainly due to altered public
interest and an enormous economic effect.
The increase in the popularity of angling makes possible the
development of an entire specialised infrastructure.
Future of Recreational Fisheries
Lithuanian State Pisciculture and Fisheries Research Centre
breeds many fish, however, raises no specific objects for
recreational fishing (grayling, brown trout, etc.) because the
institution’s bylaws still stipulate it should restore fish with
commercial value.
Insufficient pisciculture and fish-protection efforts have led to
impoverished stock of fish in most water bodies, which, as a
result, lost their appeal to anglers. All these reasons are main
factors hindering the development of recreational fisheries
market.
Future of Recreational Fisheries
The collected data convinced the governmental institutions to
pay attention to those problems as well. The Law on Amateur
Fishing was approved in 2004.
It should be noted that recreational fishing has priority against
commercial fishing, as emphasized in the law.
To evaluate and develop regulations on angling, there was a
Board of Amateur Fishing Development established from
governmental and non-governmental organisations.
These steps are expected to form a new perspective for the
development of recreational fisheries in Lithuania.
Thank you for your attention!
Photo: Artūras
No scale nor tale for you!