Finland will face a deduction of 3,162 salmon from its 2025 scientific fishery quota after the Commission found it breached EU regulations
The European Commission has formally deducted 3,162 Atlantic salmon from Finland’s 2025 fishing quota after concluding that the country breached fishing rules by conducting a “scientific” fishery in 2024 that did not meet the EU’s legal requirements.
Published in the Official Journal on 6 May 2025, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/864 confirms that Finland’s research activities in Baltic Sea subdivisions 29 North and 30 were not compliant with the conditions for scientific fisheries under EU law. The ruling comes after a protracted exchange between the Finnish authorities, the European Commission, and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).
The Commission found that the scale of Finland’s so-called scientific fishery—using 32 commercial vessels—was “not justified on scientific grounds” and resembled a near-commercial operation. It concluded that the derogation which allows directed fishing for research purposes under Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 was misapplied.
According to the Commission, the total catch from the operation was 3,162 individual salmon, amounting to roughly 70% of previous commercial catch volumes in the same area—well beyond what would be considered acceptable for scientific sampling.
The STECF had previously warned that the research plan did not clearly state its objectives, lacked added scientific value, and risked undermining depleted stocks, particularly salmon populations from the vulnerable Ljungan River.
Despite repeated Commission requests to suspend the operation until further assessment, Finland proceeded with the fishery in May and June 2024, arguing it was compliant with EU law and necessary for gathering biological data on salmon origin. Finnish officials also rejected the need for a second STECF opinion, citing timing constraints and legal interpretations.
The Commission, however, stood firm in its conclusion that the scientific research could have been conducted with fewer vessels, using alternative methods that did not require the killing of wild salmon. Citing survivability rates of over 70% for trap-netted salmon, Brussels argued that a live-release protocol could have fulfilled the research objectives while minimising impact.
As a result of the overfishing, the deduction will be applied in full to Finland’s 2025 Atlantic salmon quota, which was originally set at 8,989 individuals. No additional penalties beyond a one-to-one deduction were deemed necessary, as the catch volume fell below 100 tonnes.
The case underscores growing tensions between national fisheries management strategies and EU conservation standards, especially concerning the protection of threatened salmon populations in the Baltic Sea.
The regulation is binding in its entirety and applicable across all EU Member States.
Source: EU Commission
