| Summary: | This document is a technical paper contributing to the regional results under an FAO Technical Cooperation Programme project (TCP/RER/3701) on “Systems and methodologies of data collection in inland fisheries of Europe”, financed by the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU). This work is facilitated by the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC), a pan-European network of research institutions, and through a Letter of Agreement between FAO and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE). Inland fisheries are important sources of ecosystem services contributing to human diet, health, well-being and economies. The evaluation of the importance and value of inland fisheries is one of the biggest challenges for its development. To develop the inland fisheries data collection, we reviewed the current status of data collection in European countries and provided five detailed country examples. The level and methods of inland fisheries data collection in Europe were highly variable. Some countries did not collect any data on recreational fishing, or it was collected only from specific areas, or only the number of licenses sold was recorded. Data collection from catches of diadromous species was most common and harmonized among countries and in particular, Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were recorded. When data from other fish species were also nationally collected, the methods used included postal or telephone recall surveys using a sample of citizens of the country. More detailed surveys were used to assist national surveys, or were used independently, in specific sites of importance using various methods, like postal surveys targeted to fishing license holders, online reporting of catches, or catch reports and logbooks. Many countries provided fishing license buyers with catch return forms or logbooks to be filled at fishing occasions and/or returned in the end of the fishing season. Commercial inland fisheries did not exist, or were very limited, in many European ...
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