25% Finns still go out to fish as a hobby

The number of recreational fishermen in the country dropped further from 1.6 million in 2015 to 1.5 million in 2016, said the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) in a press release.

“The number of fishermen has decreased from the level of two million in early 2000s by nearly one quarter,” said Senior Statistician Pentti Moilanen from Luke.

Even now, the fishing sportsmen represent more than one-fourth of the Finnish population, with the males accounting for more than 33 per cent and the females nearly 20 per cent of the population.

The most recent estimates of the number of recreational fishermen have varied between slightly less than 1.5 million and 1.6 million, one in every three of them being a female.

The catch made by recreational fishermen, however, posted a slight spike last year compared with the catch in 2014, when the previous statistics of recreational fishing were compiled. The whitefish and pikeperch catch, together with the roach catch, increased the most.

On the other hand, perch and pike catches declined. However, they accounted for nearly half of the total catch of 30 million kilos.

Net fishing accounted for 40 per cent of the catch, while in 2000 net fishermen caught half of the total catch. Fish caught by using spinning rods or trolling accounted for 26 per cent and fish caught using a hook and line or a jig for nearly 10 per cent of the total catch.

“Currently, many recreational fishermen prefer active fishing methods to net fishing. The traditional hook and line is still the most popular piece of fishing equipment,” Moilanen said.

The information is based on a survey on a sample of 7,500 people living across Finland, whose names were obtained from the Population Register. The survey questionnaire was posted to them in the beginning of the year. In addition, those of the survey sample who failed to respond to the questionnaire were interviewed over telephone.