The Swedish Parliament has decided to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas. The ban is due to come into force on 1 July this year. At the same time, they have made room for exceptions, and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV) is now proposing that this should apply to Kosterhavet National Park.
The situation for fish, birds and seals in the Swedish seas remains critical. We fish too much and release too many harmful substances, says Mats Svensson at the Norwegian Sea and Water Authority.
"Don’t catch any eels at all” say the scientists, if you want to have any eels left in the future. But according to Sofia Brockmark at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV), very few people fish for eel in Sweden and they don’t catch very many.