Saimaannorppa calf drowns in legal fishing trap

A Saimaannorppa calf drowned after swimming into a legal fishing trap equipped with an escape hatch, according to Metsähallitus, the Finnish state forest and park service.

The young female, weighing about 14 kilograms, was born this spring. Its small size allowed it to enter the trap, where it died. The trap was located in a restricted fishing area near Savonlinna where net fishing is banned until 30 June.

Metsähallitus was notified of the death on Monday. This is the seventh confirmed fishing-related Saimaannorppa death this year; previous cases involved nets.

Over the past decade, an average of six such deaths have been reported annually. Wildlife experts attribute the calf’s small size to poor nesting conditions this year, including a low-snow winter that left newborns vulnerable and increased mortality rates among those born in February and March.

The carcass has been frozen and will be sent to the Finnish Food Authority for a necropsy.