The grayling population in Lake Vättern is very weak, according to officials. Since March last year, it has not been allowed to fish grayling in the lake, and the decision means that all grayling caught unintentionally must be immediately released. The effectiveness of this fishing ban since its implementation remains unclear.
Conservation efforts are underway, with Sportfiskarna and Jönköping municipality carrying out excavation work this week to prepare the site for spring when the grayling spawn. The excavation work together with the Visingsö ferry traffic can benefit the grayling, officials say. According to SVT Nyheter, Mattias Larsson, national coordinator for fisheries management at the Swedish Sport Fishing and Fisheries Conservation Association, described this as making a big difference for the population in the lake.
This is a bit absurd.
A passage to the harbor basin, combined with the dense traffic of the car ferries, has created one of the best spawning grounds for grayling in Lake Vättern, though exactly how the ferry traffic benefits the spawning grounds is not specified. The cause of the decline in the grayling population is not clarified, and specific factors suspected to have caused it are unknown. Long-term goals or expected outcomes of the fishing ban and conservation efforts have not been detailed, and it is unclear if there are other threats to the grayling population besides the unspecified decline causes.
This makes a big difference for the population in the lake.