03 Fishing Restrictions in Lake Saimaa – How Were Saimaa Ringed Seals Protected Until the End of June? Expert: Petteri Tolvanen

→ Frame the solution to gain broad support. Help the Saimaa ringed seal population recover while still allowing fishing in Lake Saimaa. When everyone rallies around a shared goal, the outcome is more lasting than if a single perspective is imposed.

→ Attitudes do change, but it takes time. Some say a ‘conservation quarter’ spans 25 years. Efforts to protect the Saimaa ringed seal, which began in the 1970s, have required enormous commitment, resources, and funding from countless individuals, organizations, and NGOs over decades. Today, expanding the net fishing ban to the seal’s new breeding areas is no longer contested – everyone understands why and when protected areas need to be extended.

• Setbacks are part of the process. Resistance, criticism, and accusations will arise. Try to understand the values and motives behind people’s opinions. Where does opposition to conservation come from? Seek to understand it, even if you don’t agree.
• Look back to see how far you’ve come. When progress feels slow, remember how a species once nearly hunted to extinction in the early 20th century became a symbol of Finnish nature conservation, now supported by the vast majority of Finns.
  
  

→ Compulsion is often the strongest motivator – but the path to legislation can start with voluntary action. WWF Finland first introduced net fishing restrictions in the 1980s through voluntary agreements with local fishing communities. By the late 1990s, these limits were written into law for the first time. The regulation, renewed every five years, continues to evolve as the Saimaa ringed seal population expands into new areas.

→ Change is achieved together. In the past, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry brought together a broad working group including fishers, environmental organizations, authorities, and researchers. This collaborative approach made it possible to implement fishing restrictions that helped the Saimaa ringed seal population grow modestly. Even without full consensus on every measure, the restrictions are now widely understood and accepted.

→ Progress is not guaranteed – it requires active maintenance. The current fishing restriction regulation expires on April 14, 2026. This year, the Ministry has reduced stakeholder involvement, and no comparable working group has been established to prepare the new regulation. Weakening mediation and participation increases the risk that support for the measures will erode – and when that happens, the debate often shifts to other arenas, because the underlying issues do not simply go away.