Marine Ecologist Critical of the Swedish Trawl Ban as a Project

In February, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management extended the trawling ban from four nautical miles to twelve nautical miles. The ban intends to protect herring in the central area of the Baltic Sea. But marine ecologist Henrik Svedäng do not believe it will make a difference.

The new trawl limit is a scientific project and will apply from February 1, 2025, to April 30, 2027. But Henrik Svedäng, a marine ecologist at Stockholm University, says that it is not possible to expect nature to be cooperative for a specific period.

– It is not possible to see if the stocks have recovered in this short period of time. Therefore, it cannot be seen as a solution to overfishing.

Trawl ban should be used

In recent years, there have been numerous reports about Baltic herring and its acute threat. According to Stockholm University’s Baltic Sea Center, herring has declined in numbers for a long time. The size of Baltic herring has also decreased over the last ten years. 

Svedäng believes that extending the trawling ban is a measure that should be used, and that it should be a part of the overall fisheries management. According to him, this stretch of coastline has the right geographical conditions to achieve a certain positive effect.

– It may protect herring to some extent and some wintering stocks. But it will not protect spawning, as herring spawn in the archipelago. The ban may also have consequences for other pelagic fish species outside the trawl limit. For example, as the large vessels move further out to sea, they may catch more sprat.

Likens the project to a cosmetic measure

According to Svedäng, it is difficult to evaluate the effects of the project.

– There is not enough knowledge or data to make a proper evaluation. The project also needs to run for many years, as there are a lot of different factors at play. It can therefore take years before a change can be seen.

Henrik Svedäng likens the project to a cosmetic measure. He says that if the trawl ban is the only measure that is implemented, there is a risk that the results will show that the ban has no impact on overfishing.

– There is also a risk that the new trawl limit will shift fishing pressure from one fish population to another.

According to Svedäng, the effect of a trawling ban depends on when it is introduced.

– If stocks are overfished, it can take many years for them to recover. The trawling ban introduced on the west coast in 2004, for example, has not yet had much impact.

Strong criticism from the fishing industry

The fishing industry is also critical of the project. The Swedish Pelagic Federation (SPF) believes that it serves as a symbolic ban, and that it mainly affects small-scale fishing. The Federation also believes that the project will not improve the understanding of the ecosystem or the impact of fishing.

But unlike Svedäng, SPF believes that the established fishing quotas can be enforced.

“Fishing quota must be reduced“

Henrik Svedäng, on the other hand, believes that herring must be protected even further. He states that more measures must be taken and suggest that the size of trawlers should be reviewed, as well as the fishing quota.

– When calculating how much the fishing industry can fish, there is a great risk of overestimation. The maximum quota must therefore be significantly reduced and be proportionate to the fish stock.