Pyhäselkä public water area 7015

Permit terms for the area

Fishing period: Calendar year

When net fishing, a maximum of 240 metres of net may be used by each fishing or boat party, unless the fishing or boat party is engaged in commercial fishing. This is mandated in section 49 of the Fishing Act.

What does the permit entitle the holder to

The trap permit entitles the holder to fish only in waters which are marked ‘Pyhäselkä trap permit area’ on the Excursionmap.fi service. 

Trap permits do not permit the holder to engage in commercial fishing. Commercial fishing permits are issued separately. More information about commercial fishing permits is provided by specialist Eetu Karhunen. His phone number is 040 611 7362 and email address eetu.karhunen@metsa.fi.

In this trap permit area, hook rigs with bait fish set close to the surface of the water or in the thermocline using floats are prohibited.

Line fishing for salmon is prohibited all year round.

Net mesh size restrictions

In water more than 3 metres deep, nets with a mesh size of at least 55 mm must be used. However, a mesh size of at least 80 mm must be used in surface and thermocline fishing. During the whitefish season (15 October - 15 November), there are no mesh size restrictions for bottom nets.

Vendace nets are not subject to mesh size restrictions.

Trap restrictions to protect Saimaa ringed seal

A large percentage of the trap permit area falls within the Saimaa ringed seal conservation area, where certain types of fishing gear are prohibited. This restricted area is marked on the permit area map. Within the area in question, net fishing is prohibited from 15 April to 30 June, but this net fishing ban does not apply to vendace nets, whose mesh size is less than 22 mm. The following fishing gear is prohibited in the same restricted area:

• traps or fyke nets, whose opening width is (or stretches to) over 150 millimetres
• closed-top fyke nets
• open-top fyke nets and other similar stationary traps with a mesh size of over 55 mm
• longlines and other types of hook rigs, which use fish or pieces of fish as bait
• trammel nets
• nets whose line or trammel is made of multifilament or fibre lines
• nets with a mesh size of less than 60 mm and made of monofilament line over 0.17 mm thick
• nets with a mesh size of 60 mm or more and made of monofilament line over 0.20 mm thick.

• Please note that the current fishing restrictions in Lake Saimaa region are valid until 14 April 2021. The new restrictions come into effect on 15 April 2021.

Catch sizes and protection periods

The following catch sizes and protection periods for fish species are in effect for this permit area:

Fish species	Catch size	Protection period
Landlocked salmon with adipose fin	All sizes of fish must be released	Completely protected in the Vuoksi waterway
Landlocked salmon without adipose fin	At least 60 cm	1.6.–31.8.
Trout with adipose fin	All sizes of fish must be released	Completely protected
Trout without adipose fin	At least 50 cm	No protection period in this permit area
Pike-perch	At least 42 cm	No protection period
Grayling	At least 35 cm	1.4.–31.5.
Char	At least 60 cm	1.9.–30.11.

Fishers must observe the catch sizes and protection periods mandated in the Fishing Decree for other fish species.

Catch quotas

Fishers may only catch one landlocked salmon without an adipose fin within a 24-hour period. There is no fishing quota limit for other fish species for this permit area.

Permitted traps

A trap permit entitles the holder to use one of the following traps:

• one net, whose length is no more than 31 metres
• one fyke net or fish trap, whose length is less than 1.5 metres
• 3 traps
• one long line, with no more than 100 hooks
• 10 baited lines
• one gig (for gigging), harpoon or fishing bow.

In other words, one trap permit entitles the holder to use only one type of trap at a time. Consequently, one trap permit does not allow, for example, the holding of a net and a trap at the same time – one requires two trap permits for this purpose.

Marking traps

Standing traps must be marked in accordance with the Fishing Decree (1360/2015). The fisherman's name and telephone number must also be entered on traps.

Decree 1360/2015 can be found on the Finlex website (finlex.fi) in Finnish and Swedish.

This Finnish brochure contains photographs and information on marking traps (PDF, 1Mb).

General permit conditions

The permit will not be valid until it has been paid. One must carry the permit and proof of payment when fishing and show them to a supervisor authorised by Metsähallitus, if the supervisor so requests.

The permit holder is the person whose name appears on the permit. The holder is responsible for any fishing done under the permit. One is obligated to establish the legality of the fishing activity.

Trap permits are specific to the fishing or boating party, and they are valid for a calendar year.

The permit entitles the holder to fish in the Metsähallitus waters specified on the water area directory of the permit area and/or on the permit area map. The water area directory is included with the map as a PDF file.

Metsähallitus may revoke the permit if the permit terms are violated.

In addition to the Metsähallitus permit fee, persons aged 18–69 must also pay the state fisheries management fee. Fishers who have reached the age of 65 or more by 31 December 2023 are an exception: they do not have to pay the fee.