Pike stocks and their impact
Many believe that pike in a water with precious fish have a negative impact on other stocks. This can also be the case if the pike population is large and has a width with many small pike. The more pike, the more "bait fish" is consumed. But in most cases the pikes eat smaller fish and make the existing stock of noble fish become large and viable. However, what should be avoided is getting too large stocks of smaller pike. Smaller pike do not have many enemies down in the water. However, there is a natural enemy for these and that is larger pike. In order to then keep the pike populations reasonably stable, it is required that these larger pike are allowed to swim and clean in their own genus. In waters where larger pike are taken up with ignorance, the risk increases that more smaller pike can live undisturbed and reduce whitefish stocks, grayling and trout. It is something we want to avoid within Långå FvoF.

Another main reason to keep larger pike swimming is to prevent the spread of pike tapeworm, a parasite whose main host is the pike. Fewer pikes lead to fewer main hosts for the parasite. The pike tapeworm is not dangerous for us humans, but other fish species can become intermediate hosts.

We at Långåfisket want to spread the knowledge about the pike's impact on an ecosystem. We therefore urge that larger pikes over 80cm be put back in order not to widen the pike stock even more. One of the reasons why both whitefish and grayling grow so large in Långåljusnan is the stock of larger pike that live alongside them. Don't let us humans affect this working interaction.

Elias Hammarlund,
Långåfisket