The River Daugava flows through the City of Riga into the Baltic Sea.The natural salmon stock (Salmo salar) of the river was destroyed - as in many places - by building dams to facilitate energy production in the 1960īs and 70īs. However, the salmon stock has been restored by stocking articially reared salmon in the River Daugava.
Over 50 % of salmon reared in Latvia come from the "Tome" fish farm 50 km upstream from Riga. This fish farm, already established in 1928 and reconstructed in 1983, belongs to Latvian State Fish Hatcheries and produces 360,000 one year old salmon smolts a year.
These smolts are released in the spring at the mouth of the River Daugava. A small proportion of the fish are marked for research purposes. After being released the fish migrate out to the Baltic Sea as far as the Danish coast, but they return after a few years to the River Daugava. By this time the originally 15 cm long smolts have reached an average weight of 5 kg.
In spite of the returning salmon no recreational fishing exists in the River Daugava so far. In many places round the Baltic Sea, e.g., the Swedish capital of Stockholm, a strong stock of migratory salmonids has given rise to recreational fishing even in the city centre.
For further information, please contact Mr Valts Berzins, Director of the "Tome" Fish Farm, fax: +371 50 38407 or 45803.
