Finland Socio-economic Profile


1 Finland : FIN1
1.1 Overview  

The area defined as Finland FIN1, covers the whole country. The In 1997 the Finnish fleet comprised of almost 4,000 vessels with a total capacity of 24,000 GRT and 219,000 kW.  The majority of these vessels were small with an average size of 6 GRT and 54kW. In terms of numbers the coastal fishery constitutes the largest segment with 3,640 vessels.  These vessels operate close to their home port.

In terms of volume and value the pelagic trawler segment which consists of 239 vessels is the most important.  This segment targets herring and sprat and operates throughout the Baltic Sea but their main fishing grounds are in the Bothnian Sea.

The 3 remaining bottom trawlers target cod in the southern Baltic sea and land their catches abroad, mainly in Denmark and Sweden.

The 105 vessels that operate use driftnets and longlines target salmon in the Baltic sea and also land their catches abroad. In each segment several vessels are non operational.

In 1997 the Finnish catch totalled 117,000 tonnes valued at 26,527,724 ECU.  In terms of volume and value the Baltic herring was the most important with total landing of 90,334 tonnes valued at 14.114,110 ECU. Other important species were salmon, whitefish, sprat and cod.

Regionally, fishers in Varsinais- Suomi landed the biggest catches with one fifth of the total volume.  Slightly smaller catches were landed in North Ostrobothnia, Satakunta and Ostrobothnia.  
In 1997 there were 202 companies processing fish in Finland, around 170 establishments were engaged in fish production,  Their turnover was 54,327,911 ECU. The industry is highly concentrated with the 10 largest companies accounting for over 50%  of the volume.  Regionally, Varsinais - Suomi accounted for almost half the total value.

The total amount of fish (mainly Baltic herring and farmed rainbow trout) processed for human consumption was 39,000,000 tonnes of which 33,000,000 tonnes was domestic production and the rest was imported.
An additional 94,000 tonnes of Baltic herring and sprat was used for fish reduction purposes.  In 1997 there were 17 fishmeal plants, the majority in Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia.

1.2 Coastal fishing employment

In Finland, in 1997, there were 3,003 registered fishers.  This figure is comprised of 1,065 full time fishers and 1,938 part time fishers.  Geographically the most important NUTS 3 Areas in terms of numbers were Ostrobothnia with 208 FT fishers and 483 PT fishers  and Varsinais-Suomi with 187 FT fishers and 321 PT workers.  The majority of NUTS 3 areas have more part time fishers than full time fishers. The exceptions are Uusimaa with 111 FT workers and 51 PT and Aland with 195 workers and 141 PT fishers.  For Finland as a whole 92% of the fishing workforce are male,  however in Varsinais-Suomi the percentage of female fishers was 18% ,  whilst in Itä-Uusimaa female fishers comprised 15% and in Åland 10% of the workforce.

1.3 Processing Employment

In 1997 employment in the fish processing industry amounted to 560 FTE , of which 228 (41%) were  in Varsinais - Suomi.  Fish processing for the rest of the country was evenly distributed.
Employment in wholesaling totalled  410 FTE.  The regions with the highest employment are Uusimaa 111 FTE, North Savo 60 FTE and Varsinais-Suomi, with 51 FTE.

1.4 Marine Aquaculture Employment

There are 381 FTEs in coastal aquaculture.  Fish farming is concentrated in South-western Finland, that is Aland and Varsinais Suomi, which together account for three quarters of turnover and over 70% of employment.  There are 173 FTEs in Varsinais-Suomi and 99 in Aland  

1.5 Inland Aquaculture Employment

There are 269 FTEs in inland aquaculture, 56 of these are in Central Finland, 48 in North Savo and 39 in Lapland.  Not all inland fish farming is shown by statistics because it is often a secondary occupation in rural areas.

1.6 Inland Fishing Employment

There are almost 1,200 commercial fishers in inland waters.  However only 230 earned their principle  income from it. The main species fished for is vendace ( whitefish ). The largest number of fishers are in Lapland where there are 602.  Central Finland has 155 fishers, and South Savo 167.