Goodbye to northern pike (Esox lucius) in the Polish southern Baltic?

Abstract

This paper presents compilations of data on commercial fisheries catches of pike on the Polish coast and coastal lagoons in regard to pike stocking and some basic biological data gathered in 2010–2015 in Puck Bay. The decline in commercial pike catches in Polish coastal lagoons began as early as the 1950 s. In Puck Bay, where the species was the dominant predator, the causes of the rapid decline after the mid-1970 s were suggested to be the cut-off of spawning grounds in coastal wetlands and the depletion of underwater meadows. The stocking that has occurred thus far in Puck Bay has had an effect only when using summer fry (8–10 cm TL). In the fishermen’s opinion, restocking could be successful only if gillnet fishing was banned for at least 5 years and canals were unblocked for spawners.