Administration of fisheries

In the field of fisheries, different directions are represented in Estonia: deep sea and coastal fishing, inland water fishing and fish farming. Estonian fishermen catch most of the fish from the Baltic Sea. Considering the natural conditions of Estonia, the development of fisheries is very important for us, since it helps to compensate for the decreasing fish stocks.

After Estonia’s accession to the European Union, the fisheries here are regulated by the Common Fisheries Policy, which includes four tightly connected domains: usage and protection of fish stocks, structure and market organization policy and fisheries foreign policy. Also fishery agreements with other non-European countries and negotiations in international organizations belong under the latter.

According to the Estonian fisheries strategy, the diversity of the fisheries sector must be preserved. The more concrete goals of the strategy are: increasing the income of fishermen; balancing fishing possibilities and capacities; placing the highest possible value on fish in Estonia, so that the fisherman could get the biggest possible profits for the caught fish; developing fish farming as an unused potential.

In Estonia, the responsibility for the fisheries sector is divided between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of the Environment.

The responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture is the economic development of the fisheries sector, which includes market organization system, implementing structural and state aid, organizing the aquaculture sector, organizing commercial fishing, administering fishing permits and maintaining records on fishing.

In 2006, the Ministry of Agriculture was transferred the responsibility to organize commercial fishing, administer fishing permits and maintaining the records on fishing (including the information system of fisheries and state register of fishing vessels).