The Society of Friends of River Łeba Public Benefit Organization

ul. Aleja Wolności 22, 84-300 Lębork www.rzekaleba.pl e-mail: towarzystwo@dolinaleby.eu

KRS 0000107263 Bank PKO BP Rach. Nr 19-1020-4649-0000-7802-0055-3966 REGON 770955932

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Lębork, 4 December 2013

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Stanisław Kalemba

We, the undersigned representatives of non-governmental organizations, acting for the benefit of

the environment, including Polish rivers inhabited by salmonid species, wish to make a protest at the

policy of the Polish government with respect to the management of migratory salmonid species in

Poland, and express our concern about the sanitary condition of Polish rivers providing habitat to

salmon and seatrout.

Since 2007 the UDN epidemic (Ulcerative Dermal Necrosis) has been spreading across river basins in

Poland decimating salmon and seatrout spawners. The rivers inhabited by infected fish are Rega,

Parsęta, Wieprza with its tributary Grabowa, Słupia, Łupawa, Reda and Łeba. The scale of the issue is

so large that on some of the rivers the disease has affected 100% of the fish population.

It has been reported that ascending fish are frequently too weak to make it to the spawning grounds

and they perish. The entities responsible for collection of roe and eggs from spawners for fish

breeding and stocking purposes are having great difficulty executing their task. The existing situation

has reached the size of pandemic.

With lack of response on the part of the State authorities the whole population of affected fish in

Poland has become endangered. Disease expansion onto other Polish rivers may jeopardize

populations of wild fish, its progression being so fast that it may soon embrace salmon and seatrout

rivers in other Baltic countries. In our opinion the deteriorating condition of Poland’s migratory

salmonid species is caused by faulty policy for the management of salmon and seatrout populations

in Poland. Moreover it is caused by a complete lack of clearly defined goals along with their

respective timelines and possible means of their execution. The Polish State has not developed

a coherent and comprehensive system for the protection and maintenance of seatrout and Atlantic

salmon populations in the Polish rivers. It can especially be observed now, with the UDN pandemic

spreading on more and more rivers. The disease has been progressing for years, but Poland has failed

to conduct a comprehensive monitoring of its scale, nor has it developed a schedule to fight the

disease in the years to come. This lack of response is a manifestation of negligence, lacking a sense of

responsibility for the sanitary condition of Polish inland waters.

Currently seatrout and salmon management in Poland is based on two premises: an obligation to

stock waters with fish, as performed by fishery usufructuaries, and stocking fish to marine waters, as

organized and coordinated by Task Force on Fish Stocking at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development. The stocking uses fish of various age classes at a scale unmatched in other countries

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surrounding the Baltic Sea. That mass stocking actually serves as the only activity employed for the so

called protection of endangered fish species. In this great financial and organizational effort borne by

the State’s budget, and specifically focused on fish stocking, there is no room for the monitoring of

fish populations or the migrations thereof. Similarly, no funds are allocated to the enhancement of

the carrying capacity of the Polish rivers by e.g. removing migration obstacles, conducting

environmental risk assessments, providing particular protection of and support to wild populations of

migratory salmonids.

Such excessive fish stocking portrays out-of-date thinking and objectification of the environment. The

scale of fish stocking may serve as a stimulating factor in the outbreak of UDN disease in Poland.

Continuing the existing seatrout and salmon management solely based on mass fish stocking without

diligent assessment of the rivers’ carrying capacity, without instituting protective activities to support

natural spawning, may eventually lead to environmental disaster, as already signaled by the UDN

pandemic decimating Polish fish since 2007.

We, the undersigned representatives of non-governmental organizations, caring for Polish rivers,

closely watching the tragedy that affects seatrout and salmon each year, appeal for and demand that

preventing and counteracting activities against the issue described in this document be instituted,

aiming at the protection of the natural resources of diadramous migratory fish i.e. seatrout and

salmon.

On behalf of all Signatories

Marcin Kostuch

President of the Board

The Society of Friends of River Łeba

WWF Poland

Our Earth

Foundation

Ecology Activists Club Gaja

Polish Ecological Club

Pro-environmental Society "Słupia"

The Society of Friends of Rivers Ina and Gowienica

The Society of

Friends of River Rega

The Society of

Friends of River

Parsęta

CZARNY PSTRĄG - The Society of Friends of

Rivers Gwda and Czernica

The Society of

Friends of River

Wełna

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The Society of Friends of

River Biała Przemsza

PASSARIA - The

Society of Friends of

River Pasłęka

“The Angling World” Publishing House

“The Art of Fly

Fishing” magazine

Green Institute

“PSTRĄG” [Trout] Angling

Association of Gdańsk

“LIPIEŃ” [Grayling]

Club of Wejherowo

Aquarius Foundation

From Our End

Foundation

The Society of

Pomeranian Fishing

Guides

“Głowacz” [Muddler]

Trout Anglers’ Club

Angling Sports Club Friends

of River Chodelka

For information: 1. Baltic Marine Environment

Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission) Katajanokanlaituri 6 B FI-00160 Helsinki Finland

2. North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization 11 Rutland Square Edinburgh EH1 2AS United Kingdom

3. Dyrekcja Słowińskiego Parku Narodowego ul. Bohaterów Warszawy 1A 76-214 Smołdzino

4. Coalition Clean Baltic Östra Ågatan 53, SE-753 22 Uppsala, Sweden

5. Główny Inspektorat Weterynarii ul. Wspólna 30 00-930 Warszawa

6. Główny Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska ul. Wawelska 52/54 00-922 RSZAWA

7. Miljödepartementet

Växel 08-405 10 00 Besöksadress Tegelbacken 2 Postadress 103 33 Stockholm

8. Lietuvos Respublikos APLINKOS MINISTERIJA Jakšto g. 4, LT-01105 Vilnius Litwa

9. Miljøministeriet Børsgade 4 1215 København K

10. Instytut Rybactwa Śródlądowego im. Stanisława Sakowicza 10-719 Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 10

11. Morski Instytut Rybacki – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy ul. Kołłątaja 1 81-332 Gdynia

12. PZW - POLSKI ZWIĄZEK WĘDKARSKI Ul. Twarda 42 00-831 Warszawa

13. Pomorski Zespół Parków Krajobrazowych Oddział: Park Krajobrazowy "Dolina Słupi" 76-200 Słupsk, ul. Szarych Szeregów 14

14. Stacja Morska Instytutu Oceanografii Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego ul. Morska 2, 84-150 Hel

15. Zrzeszenie Rybaków Morskich - Organizacja Producentów 84-120 Władysławowo, ul. Hallera 19

16. Generalna Dyrekcja Ochrony Środowiska ul. Wawelska 52/54 00-922 Warszawa

17. Danmarks Fiskeriforening Nordensvej 3, Taulov 7000 Fredericia

18. Lietuvos medžiotojų ir žvejų draugija M. Sleževičiaus g. 15, 06326 Vilnius