Ban on Subsistence Fishing Called an Attack on Tradition and Food Security

A ban on subsistence fishing with nets in northern Öresund, Sweden, has ended a 10,000-year tradition, according to local fisherman Mathias Ravanis. He likens the prohibition, enacted by the County Administrative Board of Skåne and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, to forbidding people in a forest from picking berries or hunting.

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For us who live on the Kullahalvön peninsula, the ban on subsistence fishing with nets is akin to forbidding people who live in the forest from picking berries or hunting.

The ban, which took effect on July 6, 2026, prohibits all subsistence fishing with nets and longlines in northern Öresund, from Viken north of Helsingborg to Kullen. Similar bans were implemented in southern Laholmsbukten and Skälderviken in 2021. Ravanis emphasizes that for millennia, people have fished for survival using nets and hooks made from natural materials, a practice deeply ingrained in the coastal communities of northwestern Skåne, particularly the Kullahalvön peninsula.

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Since time immemorial, humans have tied nets, built traps from twigs, and made longlines with hooks of bone, to fish for their survival.

He highlights that this small-scale fishing, using a maximum of 180 meters of net per person, has always been a sustainable and gentle way to utilize marine resources. It has never depleted fish stocks or damaged seabeds, and it is practiced by locals who care for their environment. Ravanis asserts that this traditional fishing is crucial for Sweden's preparedness and food supply, recalling instances where coastal fishing saved the population from starvation during crises.

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Carl von Linné noted on July 17, 1749, on his Scanian journey, that 'Kulla herring is counted among all Swedish herring as the fattest and best.'

The author questions the necessity of a ban that so severely restricts the freedom of coastal populations and hinders sustainable resource use. The justification provided by Swedish authorities is an EU regulation aimed at protecting the North Sea's marine environment, specifically porpoises. While Sweden and Denmark are obligated to protect the harbor porpoise population in the Belt Sea, authorities believe subsistence net fishing poses an increased risk of bycatch, leading to the total ban. However, Ravanis points out that the actual number of porpoises caught in subsistence fishing nets is unknown.

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This small-scale subsistence fishing... has always been a sustainable and gentle way to utilize the sea's resources. It has never destroyed any fish stocks or seabeds.