Inland fisheries management in Poland - current state and institutional conditions

The state, development directions, opportunities and ways to improve inland fisheries management in Poland are described and discussed. Most of the country's inland waters are public. For fishing purposes, they are divided into fisheries districts. With exceptions, users of the fishing districts are selected through competitions. The user is obliged to conduct rational fisheries management in accordance with a fisheries management plan. Attention is drawn to the overdeveloped national fisheries administration and the possibilities for improvement. The fish stocks in the fishing districts are exploited by both a small group of commercial fishermen and a large group of anglers. While the information covering the basic data on harvest, stocking and other treatments in commercial fisheries can be considered sufficient, the lack of information about the number and catches of anglers is the greatest obstacle to the implementation of rational fisheries management. The preparation of a universal and mandatory system for acquiring angling data should be a priority for the national water administration, representing the owner of public inland waters in Poland.