This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 2 2026.
The Latvian fisheries and aquaculture sector includes fish production from the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, a long-distance fleet that targets small pelagics off the coast of Africa, a coastal fishery, inland fishing, recreational fisheries, and an aquaculture industry. It also includes a long-established processing industry and significant trade in fish products. It is, in short, a highly diversified sector. Moreover, it is an important provider of employment opportunities in coastal communities and contributor to food security more generally.
The Latvian fisheries fleet is dominated numerically by small coastal vessels under 12 metres, which account for more than 93% of all vessels. The offshore Baltic fleet makes up just over 6%, while the high seas fleet represents a little more than 1%. Thus, in vessel numbers, Latvia is overwhelmingly a small-scale fishing country, even though a smaller number of larger vessels generate an important share of landings and industrial activity. The fleet has shrunk significantly since EU accession, reflecting both structural adjustment and pressure on resources. In 2004 Latvia had 942 fishing vessels; by 2024, this had come down to 663 while gross tonnage halved to 21,700, according to the Latvian National Statistics Portal. Over 2025 and 2026 a further eight vessels have been removed from the fleet with support from the EU to bring capacity in line with the resource.
Pelagic fisheries dominate volumes and value
Latvia’s marine fisheries are concentrated above all on pelagic species, especially herring and sprat. These species are central to the economics of the offshore fleet and to the supply of raw material for processors. The biological picture of fish resources, however, is uneven. Some stocks important to Latvia remain in reasonable condition, while others continue to pose serious concern. Gulf of Riga herring is still considered an important resource for both coastal and offshore fisheries, and sprat also remains a crucial commercial species. Stock performance depends heavily on the strength of incoming year classes. Normunds Riekstiņš, Director of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture agrees that there has been a reduction in fishing opportunities for pelagics from some 60,000 tonnes to 50,000 over the years but says that for 2026 there is an increase of 15% for herring in the Baltic Sea (to 2,700 tonnes) and of 45% for sprat in the Baltic Sea (to 28,000 tonnes). While the overall trajectory is downwards, such fluctuations are common within the falling trend. The sector, he says, is doing fairly well in terms of metrics such as catch per unit effort, profitability etc. However, the fleet is ageing and this affects safety, fuel efficiency, labour attractiveness, and the feasibility of the energy transition.
Regarding cod, formerly an iconic species in the Baltic Sea, scientific advice continues to support the prohibition of targeted cod fishing as the stocks suffer from environmental conditions, weak recruitment, prey availability, and parasite pressure. In practical terms, cod has become a choke species, especially for coastal fishers and for any mixed fishery where cod appears as bycatch. Salmon also remains tightly constrained, with conservation measures and very limited fishing opportunities. These stock dynamics help explain the broader direction of Latvian fisheries policy and industry strategy. Mr Riekstiņš, makes clear that the main challenge is no longer how to extract more volume from the sea, but how to obtain more value from limited and fluctuating resources. Latvia’s pelagic fisheries may still deliver substantial landings in good years, but the sector cannot rely on raw material volume growth. Biological ceilings, quota fluctuations, and environmental pressures make that unrealistic. Instead, the economic emphasis has shifted towards value addition, better utilisation, product development, and maintaining markets even when catch opportunities are volatile. This can be seen in the offshore Baltic fleet which is catching and freezing herring and sprat and sending it for further processing to Latvian companies or for export. Ukraine is a major customer for these frozen blocks, and they are even sent to some African countries. This trade cushions the impact of falling quotas as value at the same time is rising. To achieve the best price fishers also restrict their activities to the spring and the fall, when the quality of the fish for human consumption is the highest.
Fish processing has a long tradition
Latvia has a long tradition of fish preservation, canning, and smoking, with smoked sprats in oil as the best-known emblem of the industry. The processing sector is represented by more than 90 companies producing fish products worth EUR319m (2023) for local and export markets.
Processing depends partly on domestic landings, but also very importantly on imported raw material. The largest share of imported fish products, excluding preserved products, consists of frozen and chilled fish used as raw material for producing prepared or preserved fish in Latvia much of it for export. In 2024, the export value of fish products, including prepared or preserved fish, reached EUR 356 million, up 11.5% compared to 2023. The overall external trade balance for fish products remained positive at EUR 83.9 million. While the trade balance for prepared or preserved fish was strongly positive, at EUR 114.3 million. In 2024, Latvia exported 39.9 thousand tonnes of prepared or preserved fish and seafood worth EUR 158.8 million. The sector’s performance is especially significant because processors have had to adapt to market loss and trade redirection in recent years. Companies have diversified destinations and product assortments. Fish products were exported to 76 countries in 2024, while more highly processed or preserved fish and seafood reached 71 countries. Companies are adapting to the challenge of finding labour by using contractors who bring in people from remote countries, as enough local labour is not available or is not interested in this type of intensive manual work. Automation is generally not feasible as the tasks, such as packaging smoked sprats in cans or jars, are best performed by hand for top quality products.
Processors also face a changing regulatory and technical environment. Stricter limits for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked products, including canned sprats, are being considered by the EU. Armands Krauze, Latvian Minister of Agriculture, states that a revision to the limits would render 14% of Latvian canned sprat production non-compliant. He firmly believes in waiting for the results of a risk assessment being conducted by the European Food Safety Authority on the impact of smoked products consumption. If standards do tighten, companies may need to make substantial investments in technology, modify production methods, or reformulate products without undermining the sensory and taste qualities that give traditional items their market appeal. These products are exported to countries around the world, says Mr Riekstins, and it is necessary to adapt to maintain consumer trust in these products that are well known in particular markets.
Aquaculture using recirculation systems is a potential growth area
Aquaculture occupies a much smaller place in Latvia than marine fisheries and processing, yet it remains strategically interesting. The sector consists of about 65 companies and markets around 750 tonnes annually. Carp farming dominates, accounting for more than 70% of the industry production, with smaller volumes of trout and other species.
Mr Riekstiņš describes aquaculture as stable but at a low base level of production. Carp remains the main species, yet the market for carp is limited and Latvian producers face strong competition from neighbouring countries with the same product offer. Many pond farms therefore focus on local or regional markets rather than the whole country or large-scale expansion. There is some room for incremental growth, but not for a drastic increase under the current model. More promising, in principle, are recirculation systems and possibly marine aquaculture. Mr Riekstins points to Arctic char production as one of the more successful examples of recent times. Marine aquaculture could offer a larger increase in output, but faces environmental concerns, particularly over nutrient and organic pollution. Mr Riekstins refers to ideas for planned pilot projects that seek to substantially reduce or prevent the pollution from cages from entering the sea. He emphasises however that while the ministry is generally supportive of such projects for the economic benefits they are likely to bring, this is only on condition that all the environmental requirements are met.
Coastal fishers’ PO is highly active
Small-scale coastal fisheries are valued not only as commercial activity, but as part of the social and cultural fabric of Latvia’s coastline. The government sees coastal fishing as a form of cultural and historical heritage, while fishing communities themselves are trying to strengthen economic resilience by increasing value-added, improving storage and freezing capacity, and linking fish sales more closely to tourism and hospitality. Coastal fisheries are unlikely to grow substantially in volume, but stability in the sector is desirable. Their long-term viability will depend on access to quotas, local branding, direct sales, and diversified income. Generation renewal remains a concern. Younger fishers do enter the sector, often through family succession, but there is uncertainty about whether this will continue into the future generation. The work is physically demanding, incomes are limited, and children today may be less willing to take on such labour-intensive occupations. The government is highly supportive of the sector for its historical value and has therefore encouraged sector promotion, training, school outreach, and organisational development among coastal fishers. But long-term renewal ultimately depends on whether fisheries can still offer a credible livelihood. The fishers themselves are getting organised. The first producer organisation for coastal fishers, which has members from all along the Latvian coast, has been established and is now considering investments in freezing and storage capacity to be able to keep and sell the fish when prices are highest. The PO is also working on processing the fish and putting up small trade stands where the catch and freshly processed fish can be sold in the summer to tourists. It also organises events such as special fish days, on which it promotes the use of coastal fish species, and also maintains a website where fishers can inform the public on the availability of fish and fish products.
Latvia has a major strength in processing, where it combines local landings with imported raw material to generate value-added output for export. Trade results in 2024 confirm that this model remains effective. Latvia’s fisheries economy is therefore not defined by expansion in catch volume, but by resilience, processing capability, market reach, and the search for higher value from limited resources. That is the core of the sector’s current position and, most likely, of its future direction as well.
