Development, promotion and sustainable management of the Baltic Sea Region as a coastal fishing tourism destination

RETROUT is a project that develops and promotes the Baltic Sea region as a coastal fishing tourism destination with the focus placed on the sea trout. To this end, participants of the project triggered cooperation among selected key players, target groups and supporting organisations at each destination. RETROUT develops sustainable and efficient management methods for the sea trout in the sea basin. Moreover, research institutes and key project partners provide thematic expertise in the fields of river restoration, tourism development, fishery and ecosystem service management.

The project strengthens a governance framework for fishing tourism in the Baltic Sea region. To achieve this, RETROUT and its partners provide guidance in the form of toolboxes for river restoration and fishing tourism. They shall be used by authorities to help foster sustainable growth and jobs through appropriate policy and regulatory adjustments.

Expected outputs:

• Strategic development plans for new tourism product at five demonstration sites;
• Model process for destination development for coastal fishing tourism;
• The Baltic trout destination management service, the joint eco-branding and web-portal for on-line marketing and booking services will improve market access and performance of the transnational network of fishing guides, tourist boards and coastal municipalities;
• Transnational action plan for fishing tourism, which will provide guidance to the national authorities to foster sustainable growth and jobs through appropriate policy and regulatory adjustments;
• “Best practice” solutions for efficient river restoration measures for seatrout, disseminated through the demonstration projects and the Baltic Toolbox on River Restoration, which will provide guidance to national and regional authorities, on best practice and restoration solutions that enhance eco-system health, are economically viable and efficient for production of fish stocks.

Project partners:

• County Administrative Board in Stockholm, (SE);
• Haninge municipalit, (SE);
• Baltic Environmental Forum Estonia, (EE);
• University of Tartu, (EE);
• NGO Estonian Fishing Tourism, (EE);
• Kurzeme Planning Region, (LV);
• Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment - “BIOR”, (LV);
• Klaipeda University, (LT);
• Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, HELCOM, (FI);
• Ventspils Regional Municipality, (LV);
• Administration of Klaipeda District Municipality, (LT);
• Campus Roslagen AB, (SE);
• SUCCEEDED by PP19 (01.10.2019) Maritime Institute in Gdansk, (PL);
• EU-CONSULT, Limited Liability Company, (PL);
• Gdyna Maritime University, (PL).