Inland fisheries account for just under 2% of Lithuania’s total catches, with the Curonian Lagoon being the most significant inland fishing area. Targeted species include bream, roach, pike perch, and vimba.
The 1,619 sq km Curonian Lagoon is shared by Lithuania and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad Oblast, and is separated (barely) from the Baltic Sea by a thin strip of land called the Curonian Spit. It is a diverse body of freshwater with populations of perch, pike-perch, eel, and other species, but quite polluted and subject to heavy fishing. According to scientists from the Marine Research Institute of Klaipeda University, fish stocks, especially pikeperch stocks, are rapidly declining, due partly to overfishing. Beginning 17 January, new rules by the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment ban the use of 40-44 mm nets in the lagoon, a curtailment of a key gear type for the area’s commercial fishermen. It is hoped by all stakeholders that these measures will help improve the stocks of various fish species common in this reservoir.