Started INTERREG Estonia-Latvia programme project RoundGoby

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERREG BALTIC SEA REGION COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS “ROUNDGOBY” PROJECT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY STARTED. 

Baltic Sea fishery currently experiences severe limits of total allowable catches for traditional fish species (cod, herring). At same time, the Round Goby (RG), an invasive fish species to the Baltic Sea, is not subject to these limits. It is by now the predominant fish species in many Baltic coastal areas and is continuously increasing its range and abundance. This has negative effects on epibenthic mollusks and native fish roe; but national initiatives to address this potentially new resource, and hence mitigate its negative impacts, have so far been scarce. Also, whereas RG is commonly used for human consumption in the Black Sea region, it is neither known to Baltic consumers nor are fish processing lines adapted to its small size. Latvia is currently the only BSR country that has commercial RG fishing for export and a RG management scheme.  

Therefore, in order to create a unified Baltic Sea region management plan for the round goby, at the beginning of 2024, the Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment BIOR, together with 15  partners, started the implementation of the “RoundGoby” project. 

Lead partner: 

1. Municipality of Simrishamn (Sweeden) 

Partneri: 

2. Gdynia Maritime University (Poland) 

3. Institute of Food safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR” (Latvia) 

4. Technical University of Denmark (Denmark) 

5. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweeden) 

6. Kaunas Univertsity of Technology (Lithuania) 

7. Center of Food and Fermentation Technologies (Estonia) 

8. Kalmar municipality (Sweeden) 

9. Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) (Sweeden) 

10. SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth EEIG (Germany) 

11. Vladislavovas osta “Szkuner” (Poland) 

12. Skillinge Fisk-Impex AB (Sweeden) 

13. Branteviks Fisk (Sweeden) 

14. Baltijos konservai, LTD (Lithuania) 

15. Danish Small Scale Fishermen’s Producer Organisation (Denmark) 

And 11 associated organisations from Sweeden, Danmark, Poland and Lithuania. 

The main project goals: Through transnational cooperation and competence-building of fishers, gear manufacturers, the industry and relevant regulatory authorities, the Round Goby project will promote RG fishing by exploring management options, develop jointly approved fishing methods and report systems as well as showcase production of high value products for local markets. The project will open new opportunities for Baltic fishermen while reducing the population of an invasive species which threatens the Baltic Sea’s biodiversity 

Planned activities  in the project in which BIOR is involved: 

I Develop and Test novel non-human food products (i.e. pet snacks) 

• Report on dietary quality of fish (lipids and protein content) and report on occurrence of contamination with: 1) heavy metals (mercury, lead, and cadmium); 2) dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs; 3) brominated flame retardants; 4) polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides; 5) perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.  

II Transfer and adaptation of fishing techniques and gears: 

• The tested gear are to be put in the relation to national fishing regulations. This is done in a following up chapter in the report now including information on existing gear fishing techniques for round goby and the results from the test fishery for round goby;  
• Creation and Facilitation of round gobies wide external working group;  
• Results, findings and recommendations on efficient and legal fishing techniques and 

selective fishing gear to minimize by catch. 

III Report on recommendations for RG fishery in the Baltic Sea: 

• The main aim is to evaluate country-specific regulations on RG fishing techniques and fisheries management issues and to develop a proposal on current fishing gears adjustment and fishing spatial distribution to correspond with regulations in different BSR countries, with the aim to develop and establish a seasonal fishery. 

More about the project on the Interreg website (https://interregbaltic.eu/project/roundgoby/#summary) 

This article is prepared with the financial support of the European Union. The content of this article is entirely the responsibility of the Institute for Food Safety, Animal Health and the Environment, BIOR, and under no circumstances is the official position of the European Union. 

Duration of the project is from November 2023 to October 2026. 

Total project funding is EUR 3 716 984,00. The funding of the Institute BIOR is EUR 532 844,80, incl. ERDF co-financing is 80% (EUR 426 275,84) and national co-financing is 20% (EUR 106 568.96).