Division of Environment and Natural Resources
Interreg-Aurora project: Our Precious Transboundary Waters
End: jul 2026
Start: aug 2023
The brown trout is a socioeconomically important freshwater fish in both Norway and Finland, where habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, translocations, and stocking have led to nationwide decline especially in populations of large growing, adfluvial brown trout and their genetic integrity. Careful conservation and coordinated, sustainable management of the remaining large growing brown trout populations is crucial. For this purpose, our project focuses on the transboundary Lake Inari-Pasvik River catchment as a bilateral model (reference) system, utilizing and requiring cross-border cooperation between Norway and Finland. We combine information on the genetic status of trout populations in the catchment, introduce new research methods and compare existing stocking programs for providing tools and guidelines to support the knowledge-based conservation and management of adfluvial brown trout populations in Norway and Finland.
Project participants
Snorre Hagen Runar Kjær Paul Eric Aspholm Hallvard Jensen David Kniha Simo Maduna
| Status | Active |
| Start - end date | 01.08.2023 - 31.07.2026 |
| Project manager at Nibio | Cornelya Klutsch |
| Division | Division of Environment and Natural Resources |
| Department | Ecosystems in the Barents region |
| Funding source | INTERREG-AURORA |
Sustainable freshwater ecosystem preservation and management in Finnish-Norwegian cross-border watersheds demand greater consideration and transboundary collaboration to harmonize management and mitigation strategies. Therefore, this project aims to tackle a range of issues concerning water and environmental management, which have been raised as concerns by residents in the northern municipalities of Finland and Norway. Given the complexity of these topics, the project centers on three transboundary river systems in northern Finland and Norway: the Pasvik, Neiden, and Tana rivers.
The brown trout holds significant socioeconomic importance in both Norway and Finland, particularly in freshwater ecosystems. However, factors such as habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, translocations, and stocking have contributed to a nationwide decline, especially in populations of large brown trout, that spawn in river ecosystem, and their genetic integrity. Careful conservation efforts and coordinated, sustainable management of the remaining large growing brown trout populations are crucial for long-term conservation of this species.
To address this, work package 2 focuses on the transboundary Lake Inari-Pasvik River catchment as a bilateral model system, necessitating cross-border cooperation between Norway and Finland. We aim to integrate data on the genetic status of trout populations in the catchment, employ new research methods, and evaluate existing stocking programs to provide tools and guidelines supporting knowledge-based conservation and management of adfluvial brown trout populations in both countries.
To facilitate this, researchers and natural resource managers from Norway (Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, County Governor of Troms and Finnmark) and Finland (Luke: https://www.luke.fi/fi/projektit/oprewa) will work closely together to standardize genetic methods for monitoring of brown trout populations, study human-induced changes, and improve stocking programs.
You can read more about the project here: Our Precious Waters (https://www.interregaurora.eu/new-interreg-aurora-projects-approved/)
Lead partner EU
Lapin Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus (ELY)
Lead partner Norway
Statsforvalteren i Troms og Finnmark
Project partners
Ruokavirasto, Finnish Food Safety Authority
Klima- og miljøinstituttet NILU
Akvaplan-niva
Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi (NIBIO)
