Activists seek fishing ban at Riga’s Māras Pond
Saturday 8th August 2026 on 19:30 in
Latvia
Riga residents are collecting signatures to ban fishing at Māras Pond, where discarded lines and hooks pose a deadly threat to swans and other waterfowl, LSM reported.
Residents Kristīne and Natālija have followed the pond’s swan family since spring, when the birds began building a nest. Seven cygnets hatched at the end of May, but only four can now be seen.
“The swan mother sat on the eggs for 43 days, and then there were these little bundles swimming for the first time. Now, when you look and they are simply not there, it is very sad,” said Kristīne Skrīvele, a resident of the Torņakalns neighbourhood.
The swan mother was the first to become entangled in fishing line. Local residents tried to save her, and rescuers eventually managed to free her. Two swans could not be saved, while the organisation Drauga spārns is still fighting to save a third young bird.
Skrīvele, who is an experienced angler herself, said lines can break in deeper water, where fishermen can no longer retrieve them. Residents are also concerned about the many hooks, lures and bottom-fishing rigs that have become lodged in the pond.
“I can walk around the shore and collect fishing lines, but I cannot clean the pond, where many old hooks, lures and bottom-fishing rigs have become caught. We could restrict or ban fishing here so that more hooks and lines do not accumulate,” she said.
A petition for the fishing ban has been launched on the Manabalss.lv public initiative portal. Once 2,000 signatures have been collected, the organisers plan to approach Riga City Council to introduce the ban.
Residents acknowledge that a ban would reduce the number of lines and hooks but would not solve the problem completely, as the pond would also need to be thoroughly cleaned.
Ornithologist Ruslans Matrozis said the issue was also linked to fishing culture. In many cases, anglers simply leave their fishing gear behind, after which birds become entangled in it or swallow it. Latvia has about 100,000 anglers who go fishing each year, he said.