Local owner-based management of Finnish lake fisheries: social dimensions and power relations

Traditionally most inland water bodies in Finland were privately owned as an extension of land ownership. Statutory fishery associations are responsible for local decision-making on most lakes. Social dimensions have been tightly embedded in decision making by these associations. The local level of Finnish fisheries management has been subjected to a fundamental shift from locally based subsistence fishing and wide local participation in fisheries associations to a wide range of non-local recreational demands and decreasing participation. In this paper the functionality of local resource management in the Finnish context of private ownership of fishing waters is studied, with focus on the social significance of local decision-making and representation of user groups in the decision-making process. The main material consists of personal thematic interviews with a range of fishermen, decision makers and other stakeholders in two lakes.