Proposal: Register Recreational Fishermen and Catches in Sweden
A Swedish government inquiry is proposing that many of the country’s recreational fishermen should register their personal details with the authorities and also report their catches.
The angling organisation Sportfiskarna sees a major challenge in the actual implementation.
– There is no doubt about that, although we will do everything we can to make it work as well as possible, says Anders Karlsson, Deputy Secretary General, to TT.
Well over a million people engage in recreational fishing in Sweden at some point each year, and now the rules for some of them may change.
On Friday, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission submitted its final report to the government. Among other things, the report proposes new requirements for recreational fishermen over the age of 18, under certain conditions, to register electronically with the authorities in the future.
This must be done at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management with name, personal or coordination number and contact details.
The requirement will apply to fishing in the sea of species or stocks covered by the EU’s recovery and management plans, and it concerns both the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Even catches
The number of fish and shellfish species covered may vary over the years and it is not yet clear exactly how many recreational fishermen will be affected.
Registration will also be required ‘in other cases, for recreational fishing in the sea or in state-managed freshwater areas, if, according to regulations issued by the government or the authority designated by the government’, it is needed due to EU requirements. Already in 2018, the European Commission advocated that Member States should be required to have a system for collecting catch information for scientific advice for the Common Fisheries Policy.
The rapporteur now also proposes new requirements for the same categories of recreational fishermen to also report their catches.
This should include information on the place of catch and otherwise the information determined by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
“User-friendly approach”
Anders Karlsson says that Sportfiskarna welcomes registration of both anglers and catches if it can protect stocks.
At the same time, his organisation, with around 73,000 members, is far from comprehensive and it can be a major educational challenge to get as many recreational anglers as possible to understand why it is important.
– It is crucial that the systems for reporting are simple and easy to understand, he says.It must be done in a user-friendly way and we need to be involved in the development of this.
Cover photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT An investigation proposes new requirements for recreational fishermen in Sweden. Archive image.
The number of people aged 16-80 who went recreational fishing at some point in 2024 was around 1.2 million, of which around 790 000 were men and 430 000 women. In addition, there is a large but unknown number of children, young people and foreign tourists.
The number of fishing days last year totalled around 10.1 million, of which 5.3 million were spent on boats. The inland areas of Götaland and Svealand had the most fishing days, followed by the inland areas of Norrland.
The most common species to fish for is perch in both inland fishing and coastal and sea fishing. Pike fishing is also very common in both types of water. However, fishing for salmon and sea trout – as well as other salmonids – and freshwater crayfish, lobster, zander, whitefish, mackerel, herring and cod is also common.
Recreational fishing expenditure on consumables, fishing licences, travel, fishing guides, food and accommodation amounted to around SEK 6.4 billion last year. Expenditure on major purchases, such as boats or more expensive gear, is estimated at SEK 4.8 billion. Total expenditure thus amounted to approximately SEK 11.2 billion.
Source: Statistics Sweden, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
