Balticsea 2020

BalticSea2020: Ban on bottom trawling promotes economic value in society

Small-scale professional fishing and recreational fishing creates greater value together.

Small-scale cod fishing in Öresund, where trawling is prohibited, has been charted in a newly released report.

BalticSea2020 gave Copenhagen Economics the mission to illustrate the fisheries economy in Öresund. Unlike in the rest of the Baltic Sea, it is forbidden since many years to trawl in Öresund. The result is a viable cod stock with big fish of good quality, which provides good income for both small-scale professional fishermen and fishing tourism.

Professional fishing in Öresund is carried out with smaller boats and other gear than in the rest of the Baltic Sea. A total of 160 smaller vessels catch shellfish, herring and cod with fishing methods such as yarn. Here, cod is the most important catch.

The landing price is determined by size and quality. In Öresund, landing prices in 2017 were twice as high compared to in the Baltic Sea. Revenue for Öresund's professional fishing amounts to 36 million Danish kronor. This is comparable to the revenues from the entire Swedish large-scale cod fishing in the Baltic Sea, amounting to about 30 million Swedish kronor.

Recreational and tourism fishing utilize services and products in coastal communities which creates large socioeconomic values. Recreational fishing in Öresund has an estimated consumption at approximately 80 million Danish kronor.

Both small-scale professional fishing and fishing tourism are viable business in Öresund where trawling is banned. Copenhagen Economics also shows examples of how professional fishing and fishing tourism complement each other in developing ports and other services.

BalticSea2020 finds that bottom trawling for cod in the Baltic Sea, which accounts for about 5 percent of Swedish fishing, provides very small income for the fishermen, limited economic value for coastal communities and an insignificant contribution to food supply.

Read the report The value to society of the fish in Öresund here.