A total of 119 million kilograms of fishes were caught in Finland in 2024 and the amount is 24 million kilograms lower than in the previous year, said the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) on Thursday. The total catch includes fish caught by both commercial and recreational fishers. Baltic herring and sprat caught by commercial fishers accounted for two-thirds of the total catch. The commercial marine catch was 72 million kilos, being 17 million kilos less than in 2023. The recreational marine catch totalled 4.5 million kilos. The commercial inland fishery catch was 5.0 million kilograms. Recreational fishers caught 20.5 million kilos of fish from inland waters. The recreational catch of 25 million kilos accounted for a quarter of the total catch in Finland. Excluding Baltic herring and sprat, recreational catch accounted for 70% of the total catch. Three-quarters of the commercial catch of pikeperch was caught in inland waters. Recreational fishers caught 80% of the total catch of pikeperch. Of the farmed fish for human consumption, 95% was rainbow trout. The number of registered commercial fishers in the country is 3,800 including 2,100 in sea areas and 1,700 in inland waters. The number of full-time fishers was 400 in sea areas while the number was 370 in inland waters. Aquaculture employed about 900 people and there were 1.6 million recreational fishers in the country.