RETROUT

An eco-brand developed by the Interreg RETROUT project enabled to promote the Baltic Sea as a destination for ethical and sustainable coastal fishing tourism.

The opportunity

Sustainable coastal fishing

Coastal fishing has steadily increased over the recent decades. The growing demand for coastal fishing triggers economic growth and provides the incentive to prolong the tourism season. The coastal fishing tourism sector in the Baltic Sea Region has great potential for sustainable jobs and diversification of the fishery sector. However, the sector is highly dependent on ecosystem services which, in turn, are dependent on a good environmental status of marine and coastal areas. The RETROUT project aims to enable this sector to develop and promote sustainable coastal fishing tourism.

Sea trout as a key species in recreational fishing

One of the factors that affect growth in coastal fishing tourism is a balance in sea trout stocks, which are dependent on the environment and restoration measures. Sea trout is a key species in fishing tourism, and the economic value of a sea trout caught is high. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of how to ensure sustainable management of sea trout stocks. Sea trout can be found in the Baltic Sea, but it reproduces in rivers. It means that reproduction conditions such as free passages in rivers and nursery areas are crucial to secure the steady growth of sea trout populations. Human interventions (e.g. mills or dams constructions) trigger obstacles for an increase in sea trout stocks. Thus, improvement and sustainable management of river habitats is an important measure to help the sea trout populations to thrive.

Budgets

RETROUT
in numbers

3.13

Million

Total
2.55

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

The RETROUT project is characterised by a truly sustainable and holistic approach to the development of touristic services.

Destination development programme

The project has worked to strengthen the stocks of sea trout by improving river habitats in the Baltic Sea region. Only sustainable stocks can support the sustainable use of fish as a natural resource. This in turn serves as the basis to create and market the Baltic Sea region as a sustainable recreational fishing destination. Following this approach, the partners from six countries across the Baltic Sea region rolled out a destination development programme. They developed 5 pilot sites in Stockholm archipelago (Sweden), Lahemaa (Estonia), Kurzeme (Latvia), Klaipeda (Lithuania), and Gulf of Gdansk(Poland). The pilots imply the development of touristic destinations where sustainable fishing trips and packages can be booked.

Joint activities help to tackle the transnational challenge

The project brought together sportfishing service providers, fishing guides and their associations, regional authorities, coastal municipalities and tourist boards. Transnational networking and peer learning resulted in the creation of a common eco-label and a platform to access fishing tourism-related services: Baltic Sea Fishing (BSF). For example, the BSF fishing guides support measures to improve the natural production of coastal and migratory fish by earmarking funds derived from fishing tourism to local fish conservation measures.

Outputs

River restoration in the Baltic Sea Region: best practices and recommendations for successful projects

The report presents summary results, best practices, and recommendations for successful river restoration projects in the Baltic Sea region. It focuses on river restorations aimed at improving migratory fish populations, especially sea trout. The report describes the best practices for the entire river restoration project process, from the initial identification of the problem to the phase of impact and success evaluation. It is based both on a study evaluating factors of success and failure from nearly 100 past restoration projects in the BSR, and on 16 concrete river restoration projects comprising fishways installations, habitat restorations, water quality improvement, and dam removal plans. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM), one of the project partners, is a publisher of the report. See also “Success or failure or river restoration projects” - A multi-factorial analysis in the BSR and “Sea trout populations and rivers in the Baltic Sea”

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Eco-brand "BalticSeaFishing" and ethical code of conduct

The development of an eco-brand “BalticSeaFishing” is key to the RETROUT approach to destination development and marketing of sustainable tourism activities. It is based on an ethical code of conduct for fishing guides and sport fishing service providers and destinations. Ethical fishing is the Unique Selling Point of “BalticSeaFishing”, and it is used in the marketing of fishing trips. The ethical code of conduct applies to all fishing performed under the “BalticSeaFishing” label. It includes commitments such as rules for handling the fish, giving back to Baltic Sea fish populations, reducing environmental impact and improving knowledge about fish stocks. The eco-branding concept is beautifully described and demonstrated in a 30 minutes project documentary “Blue Change”.

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BalticSeaFishing web platform

The BalticSeaFishing platform was created for marketing fishing trips under the project’s eco-brand and promoting the Baltic Sea as a destination for ethical and sustainable fishing tourism. It is a gateway through which anglers can find a presentation of all participating destinations, the fishing guides and their fishing trip packages, information about the ethical code and Baltic sea fish species. Customers can find information about the services offered and reserve trips through a trip reservation plug-in.

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River restoration

18 river restoration projects in 11 rivers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland were fully or partly performed during the course of the project. The restoration activities included interventions such as fish passes, biotope restorations, water quality improvement, anti-poaching campaigns, and dam removal plans. The network of restoration workers in the participating countries will continue to exchange experiences after the project. Dissemination to local river restoration workers has spread knowledge on restoration practices. For example, the habitat improvement activities in Smeltalė river, Lithuania, was the first habitat improvement performed in Lithuania. Inspired by its results, several other projects have been planned, including a dam removal.

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Project Stories

17.08.2021

Sport fishing in the Baltic Sea for economic growth and river restoration

Angling can help increase local fish populations while offering new local business opportunities. The Interreg project RETROUT boosted coastal fishing tourism. It helped local fishing guides to develop their destinations and restored sea trout rivers in six countries within the Baltic Sea region.
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