VAD ÄR FISKEN VÄRD? FRITIDSFISKET I EMÅNS AVRINNINGSOMRÅDE / What is the value of fish? Recreational fishing in the River Emå Catchment
The Emå River is one of the largest catchments in South Sweden. Efforts are made to develop sustainable tourism in the area. Recreational fishing is an important activity, that will have a potential to grow. The Emå River has a special and famous attraction, namely two species of salmon (salmo trutta and salmo salar) of an exceptional size.
The aim of this study is to map the present state of recreational fishing and to estimate its value in the Emå catchment. The study has four parts: one is a mapping of tourist entrepreneurs in the area with a focus on fishing, secondly, interviews with all chairmen of local fishing associations, thirdly, a pilot study of two groups of fishermen (specialists), one within and the other close to the main salmon fishing areas. Finally a study of travel costs for visitors in the most attractive fishing site at the mouth of the river is performed. In all, we found that the expenditures of visitors and local residents for fishing amount to about MSEK 5 annually.
Within the area fishing is now promoted as a tourist attraction. Suitable spawning grounds have been restored and new by-pass channels have been constructed, which will allow both salmonidae and other species to migrate further up the river. This will hopefully give positive effects for fishing, and for biodiversity in general. The conclusion is that there is a good potential for sustainable fishery in the Emå catchment. This can by done by increasing the supply of the exclusive salmon fishing opportunities in the main water course as well as the demand for angling in inland lakes and streams.