For several years, there have been warnings that pike stocks are declining in the Stockholm archipelago. Now, according to new test fishing, there is a clear reversal of the trend. Pike may be making a comeback.
Far out on the islands of the Stockholm archipelago, Elina Thorson and her team from SVA (the Swedish National Veterinary Institute) collect samples from dead seals to find out how the seals are actually doing. The question is what impact climate change and reduced ice cover are having on their health. Better than expected, as it turns out.
It is early morning sometime late winter last year. Out on the islands in the Skarv archipelago in the sea belt outside Stockholm, female seals and seal pups lie close on the rocks. These are mating times for the gray seals. Sea eagles soar above them. Hungry and ready to attack a weak and lonely pup.
Last May, we joined sport fishing guide Peter Berggren for a day of pike fishing in the Stockholm archipelago. Little did we know that our trip would be filled with more than just fishing. Throughout the day, Peter shared his musings about the cormorant, the seal, the pike, and the trawlers, leaving us with much to contemplate long after the trip ended.
This is what it looks like when cormorants have taken over an island in Stockholm’s archipelago. It’s not exactly attractive when you were expecting green skerries and peacefully lapping waves.
