Dark water in Öresund

Late this afternoon the water was very dark in Öresund:

 

Two Scanlines ferries meet in Öresund late this afternoon.



A boat carrying sport fishermen returns to port.

 

Helsingør seen from Helsingborg

 

The Danish fishery control vessel Havørnen in Helsingør

Havørnen (30 m x 7 m), here shown moored in Helsingør yesterday, is one of Denmark's three fishery control vessels. The ship, which was built by the Nordsoevaerftet in Ringkøbing in 1995, was already taken out of active service, but it was reactivated last year when a Spanish shipyard went broke and could not deliver a new control ship.

The Øresund Strait - A Paradise for Sport Anglers

The popular trip/charter fishing boat Tärnö on its way to Helsingborg after a hopefully
successful day of sport fishing in the Sound.

The Øresund strait is the home of some of the best sport fishing in Scandinavia. For those who want to find out more, there is a lot of useful information in English on this page:

For the sport angler, the Sound can offer an extremely varied range of sea and coastal fishing. Here, Cod, Mackerel, Herring, Sea Trout, Garfish, Plaice, Flounder and Dab all bite. If your luck is really in you might pull up the odd Whiting, Haddock, Coalfish Lumpfish, Eel or Salmon. Those fishing in the southern part of the Sound can hook both Perch and Roach. It could mean a really delicious fish soup for those who have got angling and casting down to a fine art, there are many tricks in the trade. For those interested in trying their luck, the best way is to go aboard one of the trip fishing boats. These are manned by experienced skippers and their echo probe can find the shoals. There is usually equipment to hire and for the beginner plenty of advice and tips in the art of casting and hooking.

Yesterday, the anglers on board one of the most popular trip/charter fishing boats, Tärnö, had probably been lucky - otherwise they would not have been surrounded by so many gulls ...

A 1904 picture of the British fishing fleet's hospital ship Alpha

The Alpha was a ship with nice and clean lines.

According to the information I have, this is the British fishing fleet's hospital ship Alpha in 1904. The ship brought the fishermen, who's ship had been bombarded by a Russian Navy ship in the North Sea on the night between October 21 and 22, to safety in Hull.

A Walk Down Memory Lane (3): Fishing in Hyde Park in 1975

Fishing in the Serpentine in the summer 1975.
 

The Serpentine in the Hyde Park was created already in 1730, but fishing was not allowed until 1942, as the New York Times London correspondent David Anderson reported on the opening day, June 16 of the same year: 

"It has taken a long time, but today the people of London finally received permission to fish the the Serpentine, the lake in Hyde Park created under the guidance of Queen Caroline, consort of George II, in 1730."

"Active campaigning for the right to fish this water began sixty years ago. Some persons say there are no fish worth bothering about in the Serpentine. Others argue that fish are plentiful, but have been there so long that they are much smarter than any fishermen."

On this page you can watch an old British Pathé film from the opening ceremony in June 1942.

I have not been to the Serpentine for some years now, but at least according to the Angling Guru, fishing can still be quite good there:

At Hyde Park, there is fishing in the Serpentine Lake, nearly a mile long. Fishing is permitted only in certain sections, but yields can be good. It holds roach, bream, carp and perch and some eels.

The Baltic Herring Fair in Helsinki

The Baltic Herring Fair is Helsinki's oldest traditional annual event, dating back to 1743. Early October Helsinki's famous Market Square, bordering the Baltic Sea, bustles with activity, when fishermen from the south coast and the Åland islands sell their products directly from their boats.

During the 1925 Baltic Herring Fair, the row of fishing boats at the Market Square was an impressive sight:

Tanker Cotton and cargo ship Pinta among fishing boats in Øresund

This gray February day must have been good for fishing in Øresund. At least there were an unusual number of small fishing boats out when the tanker Cotton and the small cargo ship Pinta passed by at about noon, close to Hittarp:

The tanker Cotton (184 x 27 m), the cargo ship Pinta (82 x 13 m) and fishing boats meet in the Sound.

Cotton and fishing boats a moment later.

Pinta and a few more fishing vessels.

Fishing in Finland in the the early 20th century

"At Sea", Oil on canvas by Albert Edelfelt (1883)
Gothenburg Museum of Art

As a result of the development of agriculture, industry and commerce, the importance of fishing declined in Finland in the 19th century. In the beginning of the 20th century the share of full time fishermen and hunters - altogether about 16.000 people - had dropped to only about 0,7% of the total work force.

But even during the following decades fishing still was important in Finland, particularly for the Swedish speaking inhabitants of the south-western coastal area of Finland and the Åland islands.

Baltic herring - a smaller variety of herring - was traditionally the most popular seafood in Finland. Perch, pike, bream, pike-perch and whitefish were also among the favorites. (The catch of Baltic herrings amounted to slightly over 20 million kilos in 1934.)

To eke out a living from fishing was not easy in the often cold and windy waters of the vast Finnish archipelago.

The pictures below are from the 1920s:

Hauling back the net.

The catch was placed on the solid granite rock.

Preparing the catch.

Fishermen's huts on Åland Islands.

An ice fishing camp in the Finnish archipelago.

The net being hauled in.

A good catch of Baltic herring.

This type of  "dams" were used for salmon fishing in the rivers.

The catch of salmons.

Fishing boats at the Market Square in the center of Helsinki. 

At the time of the traditional Baltic Herring Fair - which dates beck to at least 1743 - fishermen from the entire southern and southwestern coastal areas and the Åland islands gather at the Helsinki Markets Square. This drawing by Albert Edelfelt is from the 1890s. The Baltic Herring Fair in early October is still a very popular event in Helsinki.. 

In the 1930s, the rivers of Petsamo, on the shore of the Arctic (at the time still in Finnish hands) became popular among international - particularly British - sport fishers: