Fishing
Fishing has been an important source of livelihood for people living in coastal Estonia. European sprat and Baltic herring have always been a part of the Estonian diet. Rainbow trout from fish farms has shown up more recently. Fish caught in Estonian waters and processed here reaches also the tables of people living in other countries.
Fishing and aquaculture statistics provide the following information:
- which fish and from which water bodies are caught the most;
- how are Estonian fish farmers doing.
Fisheries statistics are used to plan and monitor fishing activities, to manage fish stocks, taking into account the ecosystem, in order to reduce the negative impact of fishing activities and to secure fish stocks for the future.
Fish farming production sold, 2010–2025
Unit: tonnes
| 2010 | 598.5 |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 392.6 |
| 2012 | 580.8 |
| 2013 | 733.2 |
| 2014 | 868.9 |
| 2015 | 798.3 |
| 2016 | 867.7 |
| 2017 | 870.5 |
| 2018 | 943.7 |
| 2019 | 1,062.0 |
| 2020 | 1,039.9 |
| 2021 | 849.5 |
| 2022 | 800.8 |
| 2023 | 918.5 |
| 2024 | 963.5 |
| 2025 | 1,216.7 |
Baltic Sea fish catch by species, 2010–2025
Unit: tonnes
| European sprat | Baltic herring | |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 47,861.7 | 28,861.8 |
| 2011 | 34,976.3 | 25,325.2 |
| 2012 | 27,697.3 | 22,047.4 |
| 2013 | 29,805.1 | 21,940.6 |
| 2014 | 28,498.3 | 23,130.1 |
| 2015 | 23,953.6 | 32,317.5 |
| 2016 | 23,686.9 | 33,768.7 |
| 2017 | 26,546.0 | 35,152.7 |
| 2018 | 29,625.6 | 34,726.1 |
| 2019 | 30,649.2 | 32,832.7 |
| 2020 | 24,309.7 | 28,608.0 |
| 2021 | 25,712.7 | 27,177.5 |
| 2022 | 27,551.9 | 25,313.3 |
| 2023 | 25,364.7 | 29,366.4 |
| 2024 | 24,237.5 | 20,135.6 |
| 2025 | 18,554.6 | 22,973.7 |
Ocean fish catch by species, 2010–2025
Unit: tonnes
| Atlantic cod | American plaice | Shrimps | Atlantic redfish | Greenland halibut | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 92.5 | 9.5 | 9,037.4 | 1,340.1 | 441.5 |
| 2011 | 105.1 | 35.5 | 9,919.1 | 1,075.4 | 279.3 |
| 2012 | 285.3 | 37.5 | 7,575.6 | 368.3 | 266.0 |
| 2013 | 730.4 | 225.8 | 6,653.4 | 1,572.6 | 727.1 |
| 2014 | 906.8 | 1,176.7 | 5,665.1 | 1,300.1 | 1,037.2 |
| 2015 | 989.1 | 536.6 | 6,650.6 | 1,512.2 | 693.9 |
| 2016 | 528.9 | 1,104.6 | 6,953.9 | 1,656.0 | 1,092.4 |
| 2017 | 2,543.7 | 1,249.5 | 7,412.9 | 2,198.3 | 1,141.5 |
| 2018 | 2,031.0 | 1,690.5 | 8,018.6 | 3,590.4 | 1,286.2 |
| 2019 | 2,158.8 | 1,071.4 | 9,794.7 | 3,251.9 | 1,103.3 |
| 2020 | 1,288.7 | 1,000.3 | 9,174.1 | 1,820.3 | 1,066.7 |
| 2021 | 1,015.6 | 585.1 | 8,810.4 | 1,707.4 | 897.3 |
| 2022 | 798.2 | 488.2 | 11,281.9 | 2,018.3 | 495.3 |
| 2023 | 745.5 | 257.9 | 12,752.4 | 0.0 | 98.1 |
| 2024 | 854.6 | 225.4 | 10,990.3 | 0.5 | 260.0 |
| 2025 | 453.0 | 437.7 | 8,043.2 | 0.0 | 94.8 |
Inland waters fish catch by species, 2014–2025
Unit: tonnes
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European perch | 797 | 836 | 1,025 | 682 | 568 | 799 | 1,251 | 518 | 847 | 846 | 911 | 668 |
| European eel | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 37 | 46 | 51 | 57 | 53 | 54 |
| Northern pike | 188 | 144 | 143 | 134 | 122 | 144 | 148 | 121 | 103 | 110 | 105 | 119 |
| Pike-perch | 657 | 462 | 761 | 918 | 736 | 695 | 949 | 625 | 479 | 469 | 562 | 776 |
| Freshwater bream | 850 | 784 | 757 | 847 | 754 | 664 | 712 | 803 | 748 | 663 | 739 | 722 |
| Burbot | 23 | 19 | 28 | 45 | 41 | 47 | 47 | 49 | 28 | 23 | 20 | 19 |
| Atlantic salmon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Silver bream / roach | 235 | 229 | 222 | 212 | 211 | 188 | 220 | 261 | 284 | 272 | 258 | 231 |
| Houting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| European cisco | 19 | 11 | 13 | 45 | 307 | 303 | 143 | 83 | 46 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
| European river lamprey | 30 | 47 | 31 | 41 | 25 | 34 | 36 | 27 | 27 | 35 | 38 | 46 |
| Orde(Ide) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| European smelt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 355 | 19 | 56 | 149 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vimba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other fish | 31 | 27 | 23 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
Baltic Sea fish catch by species, 2016–2025
Unit: tonnes
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European perch | 1,374 | 1,291 | 1,137 | 979 | 749 | 792 | 760 | 793 | 627 | 508 |
| European eel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Eelpout | 0 | 68 | 69 | 31 | 35 | 16 | 29 | 12 | 16 | 14 |
| Sea trout | 20 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 14 |
| Northern pike | 42 | 40 | 68 | 76 | 77 | 60 | 55 | 101 | 98 | 90 |
| European sprat | 23,687 | 26,546 | 29,626 | 30,649 | 24,310 | 25,713 | 27,552 | 25,365 | 24,238 | 18,555 |
| Pike-perch | 107 | 56 | 66 | 52 | 20 | 53 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 25 |
| Freshwater bream | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Flounder | 201 | 187 | 169 | 150 | 176 | 115 | 108 | 98 | 117 | 99 |
| Burbot | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Atlantic salmon | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Silver bream / roach | 140 | 120 | 133 | 158 | 183 | 154 | 204 | 212 | 135 | 220 |
| Baltic herring | 33,769 | 35,153 | 34,726 | 32,833 | 28,608 | 27,177 | 25,313 | 29,366 | 20,136 | 22,974 |
| Pollan (=powan) | 18 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
| European river lampery | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ide (fish) | 27 | 36 | 49 | 50 | 48 | 65 | 69 | 127 | 195 | 273 |
| European smelt | 699 | 411 | 425 | 624 | 964 | 784 | 817 | 708 | 826 | 683 |
| Atlantic cod | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Garfish | 70 | 177 | 75 | 130 | 127 | 107 | 159 | 107 | 54 | 268 |
| Vimba | 73 | 88 | 97 | 119 | 80 | 75 | 86 | 88 | 75 | 90 |
| Other fish | 194 | 250 | 241 | 244 | 326 | 341 | 317 | 454 | 869 | 1,176 |
Ocean fish catch by species, 2016–2025
Unit: tonnes
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic cod | 529 | 2,544 | 2,031 | 2,159 | 1,289 | 1,016 | 798 | 746 | 855 | 453 |
| Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sea bream | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlantic halibut | 30 | 41 | 44 | 44 | 31 | 38 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Krill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American plaice | 1,105 | 1,249 | 1,690 | 1,071 | 1,000 | 585 | 488 | 258 | 225 | 438 |
| Silver hake | 57 | 55 | 21 | 0 | 20 | 523 | 142 | 0 | 0 | .. |
| Angel shark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Octopuses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roundnose grenadier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Squids | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Shrimps | 6,954 | 7,413 | 8,019 | 9,795 | 9,174 | 8,810 | 11,282 | 12,752 | 10,990 | 8,043 |
| Winter flounder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Splendid alfonsino | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cutlassfish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Capelin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlantic mackerel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blue grenadier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlantic redfish | 1,656 | 2,198 | 3,590 | 3,252 | 1,820 | 1,707 | 2,018 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wolffishes | 8 | 30 | 36 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Witch flounder | 40 | 66 | 31 | 27 | 127 | 73 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red hake | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blue whiting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roughhead grenadier | 13 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Skate | 162 | 304 | 46 | 7 | 2 | 26 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Yellowtail flounder | 351 | 39 | 347 | 358 | 335 | 315 | 393 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saithe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| European pilchard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sardinellas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blue ling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlantic horse mackerel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black scabbardfish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greenland halibut | 1,092 | 1,142 | 1,286 | 1,103 | 1,067 | 897 | 495 | 98 | 260 | 95 |
| Black drum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| White hake | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butterfish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other fish | 31 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 820 |
The sold quantity of farmed fish increased by a fourth in 2025
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2025, fish and crayfish farms sold 1,217 tonnes of commercial fish and crayfish for a total of 6.7 million euros. Compared with 2024, the sold quantity of fish farming production increased by a fourth and the sold quantity of fish roe remained at the same level.
A record quantity of fish roe was sold last year
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2024, fish and crayfish farms sold 963 tonnes of commercial fish and crayfish, for a total of 7.8 million euros. Compared with 2023, the sold quantity of fish farming production grew by 5%. The quantity of fish roe sold was a little over 21 tonnes, which is the highest amount ever.