The European Union has stepped in to help small fishing communities preserve their way of life, as young people turn away from the job that their forebears did for generations.
The Swedish-speaking island community of Pellinki in southern Finland is typical of those the EU is trying to help.
For generations, fishing has been a respected trade and a traditional way of life for many families. But today, the number of local fishers is dwindling. Only a few remain.
One reason is declining catches. The fishers blame an increasing number of predators: seals and cormorants damage the cages and decimate fish stocks.
Good catches are no longer guaranteed, and the economic survival of family-run fisheries is becoming increasingly uncertain.
Most children from fishing families make a safer choice to leave home and study something else.
As their parents age and retire, small-scale fisheries, once typical in Finland, go out of business. Nationwide, the number of professional fishers has declined in recent decades from 1800 to around 400.
Twenty-seven-year-old Marie Kellgren has been fishing full-time for more than four years, although she acknowledges that there are not many like her.
“We’re not many – young people fishing. I think it’s because it’s physically hard work, and you don’t know for how many years you can do it. It’s a big risk to start.”
euronews 2020