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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Adaptation of Professional Fishing to Diminished Vendace Stocks: The Case of Finnish Inland Waters

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Abstract The large number of lakes covering 10% of Finland's surface area provide an opportunity for both full-time and part-time professional fishing. However, the development of the fishing industry is hindered by unpredictable fluctuations in fish stocks, by the elaborate hierarchy of the fisheries system, as well as by certain features of Finnish professional fishing, such as the small size of fishing enterprises, the scattered pattern of production, and long transportation distances to the core demand areas. According to Finnish catch statistics, the stock of vendace Coregonus albula has clearly diminished since the mid 1980s. Our results show that full-time professional fishermen differ from part-time professional fishermen in their adaptation to diminished fish stocks: they increase their fishing efforts, they try to extend their fishing grounds, and they switch to or supplement with a new species. Moreover, their desire to develop their fishing is stronger than that of part-time professional fishe...