In this report an assessment of sea trout populations in the Baltic Sea rivers is presented. The present status is compared to the potential production of young sea trout (smolt). The result is a basin wide assessment of the status of the Baltic sea trout rivers. A blacklist of rivers with less than 20% of the potential trout production is presented. Urgent measures are needed to first identify causes for the low production, then the problems need to be remedied, preferably using the best practice for river restorations presented in the report ”River restoration in the Baltic Sea region: best practices and recommendations for successful projects” (link to the report) . In this report a literature review of the effect of recreational fishing on the Baltic sea trout populations is presented as well as differences between the Baltic sea counties in the regulation of recreational fishing.
As stated in the best practice report, careful monitoring of the biology and hydrology of the river needs to be undertaken before any river restoration measures are commenced. Electrofishing, trout habitat score and river habitat survey are among the most important surveys to perform.
