Nature

Online fishing restriction enters into force in Saimaa

Online fishing restriction enters into force in Saimaa

Saimaa ringed ring Kuutti peeks out of the water.
There will be a total ban on gillnetting in the Saimaa ringed seal areas from 15 April. Archive photo.

The restriction on gillnetting in the Saimaa ringed seal areas enters into force today. The restriction protects the critically endangered Saimaa ringed seal.

There will be a total ban on gillnetting from 15 April until the end of June. For gillnets with a mesh size of less than 22 mm, the ban will last until 20 June.

According to the environmental organisation WWF, fish traps are the biggest threat to the Saimaa ringed seal. According to the organisation, five Saimaa ringed seals were killed by fishing nets and one by other fish traps last year. Particularly vulnerable to the nets are the pups, which wean from their mothers in April and May and are unable to avoid the nets.

Online fishing restriction enters into force in Saimaa Read More »

Game feeding involves risks – Luke study finds out what kind of feeding is sensible and what is not

Game feeding involves risks – Luke study finds out what kind of feeding is sensible and what is not

Feeding game animals increases the risk of disease transmission to farm and domestic animals, including humans.

For the first time, the Natural Resources Institute Finland and the Finnish Food Authority have launched a research project to investigate animal diseases spread by game feeding.

Foreign studies have shown that when feeding areas are frequented by a high density of animals of the same species, certain parasites are spread from one animal to another.

– The risk exists both when individuals of the same species and when different species are encountered. Diseases that don’t otherwise jump from one species to another can learn to do so, he says.

According to Melin, for deer, it has been found that the denser their strain, the more they carry parasites and diseases.

Game feeding involves risks – Luke study finds out what kind of feeding is sensible and what is not Read More »