Experts say Finnish leaders shift too much responsibility for Saimaa ringed seal deaths onto individual fishers

Fishing gear deaths among Saimaa ringed seals have doubled this year, according to figures from Metsähallitus, the organisation responsible for monitoring the seals. Miina Auttila, a special adviser in nature conservation at Metsähallitus, told Yle that decision-makers are placing too much responsibility for the deaths on individual fishers.

Auttila said most of the deaths occur in fishing restriction areas and involve legal gear. She said the law should be clarified and strengthened to provide greater protection for the Saimaa ringed seal.

“Even though the fishing gear is permitted, these deaths still occur. The government is effectively shifting responsibility onto individual fishers,” Auttila said.

An average of six seals have died in fishing gear each year over the past decade. Metsähallitus has been informed of 13 such deaths this year.

The most recent seal death was recorded last Monday in Pihlajavesi, part of Lake Saimaa near Savonlinna. The seal had become caught in a vendace net that complied with the regulations in force.

Much of the monitoring is left to water-area owners

Metsähallitus monitors the Lake Saimaa fishing restriction area during the open-water season. However, the size of the area makes it impossible to check every bay, Auttila said.

She said it was particularly important for water-area owners and local fishing associations to take a more active role in monitoring their own areas, because they know them best.

“More monitors mean more eyes watching,” Auttila said.

The fishing restriction area covers about 70 percent of Lake Saimaa. Fishing gear considered most dangerous to the seals, including fish traps with loose openings and nets made with strong line, is prohibited there throughout the year.

Net fishing is prohibited in the area from April 15 to June 30. A new government decree allows the ban to be extended if the seal population’s growth rate remains low.

Experts on the Saimaa ringed seal and nature conservationists say the ban should be extended regardless of the population’s growth rate.

Observations made during Metsähallitus fishing inspections suggest that monitoring by local fishing associations remains limited. Auttila said one major reason was that people did not want to monitor their neighbours.

“The people using the fishing gear are often acquaintances of the water-area owners. I completely understand that it is easier to wait and hope that an authority will carry out the inspection than to monitor your own neighbour,” she said.

Reducing net fishing would help the seal population

Auttila said the most effective way to protect the Saimaa ringed seal would be to increase the population as quickly as possible.

“The biggest threats are deaths in fishing gear, climate change, the population’s still small size and its limited genetic diversity,” she said.

Metsähallitus also works with volunteers to reduce the deaths of seal pups by building artificial snowdrifts at nesting sites, Auttila said.

Once young seals begin living independently, deaths caused by fishing gear become their greatest threat. Auttila said net fishing should be reduced further and that people should follow the fishing restrictions.

Three seals have died this year in fish traps with loose openings, which should not be placed in the water at all, she said.

Auttila, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the effects of climate change on Saimaa ringed seals, said the general attitude towards the species and its protection was positive. The greatest criticism was directed at the protection measures.

Despite the recent deaths, the Saimaa ringed seal population has continued to grow steadily, Auttila said. The wider coverage of fishing restrictions in the seals’ habitat has supported that growth.

“There is definitely hope, but work still needs to be done for the seal population. The game is not yet won,” Auttila said.