Kalle Kroon: Estonia’s inland-water management system is Stalin-era, and spearfishing is alien to Europe

The question of whether spearfishing is allowed in Estonia's inland waters has returned to the agenda. The immediate issue concerns harpoon fishing for zander in the Pärnu River, following a June 30 article in the online magazine Kalastaja.

Environmental official Märt Kesküla said the practice is not allowed in the Pärnu River. Yet it remains permitted in the Sauga River, which flows into it, and in much of Estonia's other inland waters. The apparent contradiction has prompted renewed scrutiny of how the rules are administered.

The Pärnu River has been designated a salmonid watercourse, where fishing with a harpoon is prohibited. The article asks why the rules differ in the Sauga River and elsewhere, and how inland spearfishing is regulated in other countries.

It also examines the status of the harpoon itself. Is it considered a weapon, and what danger could it pose to people? For Kalle Kroon, these questions expose wider problems in the management of inland waters and in the regulation of harpoon fishing, particularly when Estonia's approach is compared with that of other European countries.