The fishery working group meeting of the joint Finnish-Russian Water Commission was held 19-20 March 2014 in Helsinki (Finland). The representatives of projects from both sides presented their work and discussed the results at the meeting. The meeting attended by 25 - 30 people: experts, fishery and government officials and project pearners from both sides. The "Clean Ladoga" project expert Esa Laajala gave the presentation about the results of the investigations Ladoga Salmon restoration needs in the Ladoga basin. The detailed restoration plan on 2014 will be designed for two of the explored sites.
The second day of the meeting was the group working day. The participants were devided into three groups by the location: south, middle and north. Each group discussed three topics. The subjects were:
- Fishing districts and roles, supervising and legislation;
- River restoration, free migration routes, other implementation measures;
- Fishery research and sharing the supervision information over the border.
The main message of the meeting was that the cooperation should be continued. There are many common interests concerning fishery, fish and restoration which worth developing. One of the most significant current challenges is to arrange fishing rules, supervision and legislation based on common principles. And of course more resources should be allocated for this work because these projects enable the efficient use of the recources.
Esa Laajala