Diminishing herring supplies in the Baltic Sea
Small-scale coastal fishermen in the Baltic Sea have been warning of diminishing herring stocks for a number of years. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management is also seeing the same development, public broadcaster radio Ekot reports.
"We share the fishing industry's concern and can also confirm it, looking at the amount of fish caught over the last two years," investigator Jens Persson told the radio.
"Catches are noticeably smaller."
The Marine and Water Management Agency has identified multiple factors which may be affecting fish supplies. One factor is large-scale trawling, but also environmental and climate-related factors may have an effect.
Many of the small-scale fishermen are, however, convinced that trawlers have caused the shortage. According to fisherman Dennis Bergman in Norrsundet, Gävle Municipality, there's no time to wait.
"Over the last 20 years it's decreased year by year by year, and the last three years have been extremely bad. It's not even worth fishing for herring anymore, unfortunately that's how bad the situation is."
"You can't earn money fishing for herring at the moment," he said.
Swedish vocabulary: sill, strömming - herring (both names are used for the same species of fish, but the word strömming is used for herring caught in the Baltic Sea north of Kalmar)
Malmö University training Ukrainian teachers to work in Sweden
Ukrainian teachers fleeing war in their home country are undergoing training at Malmö University to be able to work in Swedish schools this autumn.
"They possess fantastic competencies which municipalities should be taking advantage of," university lecturer Christina Johnsson told TT newswire.
One topic discussed in the course is Swedish discrimination legislation. Johnsson, who is a lecturer in public law, opened discussions with cases where students' clothing has been questioned, and where students want to be defined by a different gender. This sparked debate among the Ukrainian teachers regarding the issue of gender identity.
"It's maybe a bit unusual for us," Hanna Karasevych told TT during a coffee break, "but it's not completely new or shocking. I had a female student who wanted to be a boy and changed her name," she said.
Malmö University is the first in Sweden to arrange the introductory courses which are carried out on behalf of the National Agency for Education. The Ukrainian teachers will receive basic knowledge of the Swedish school system and the relationship between teacher and student. Other topics such as human rights, cultural issues and the school's democratic responsibility are on the agenda.
Swedish vocabulary: diskrimineringslagstiftning - discrimination legislation
Fewer tourists in Swedish mountains
There are fewer tourists in the Swedish mountains this summer compared to previous years, according to figures from the Swedish Tourist Association (STF), reported by public broadcaster radio Ekot.
2019 was a record year for mountain tourism, and even during the pandemic there was great interest in hiking. Now, however, interest seems to have waned – in June 2022, STF reported 19 percent fewer overnight guests compared to the same month in 2019. Airline strikes, high fuel prices and unpredictable weather in the mountains are mentioned as possible reasons for the decrease.
However, the reduced number of visitors can also have positive effects on the mountain environment, Marit Sarri from Abisko tourist station told radio Ekot. It can lessen the burden on animals, nature, and reindeer husbandry.
"There is high pressure on the Kungsleden and the Abisko-Kebnekaise stretch, as well as in the Jämtlandsfjällen," she said. "So there is an advantage to it being a little calmer this year," she told the radio.
Swedish vocabulary: fjällen - the mountains
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