Why fish thrive in the Kvarken Archipelago
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1km 10 000 years ago 10 000 years ago 4000 years ago 2000 years ago The Kvarken archipelago has been shaped by the ice movement during the last ice age. The heavy ice sheet pushed down the bedrock and grind it into gravel and boulders. This gravel is called moraine and it is shaped in ridges formed by rivers and currents under the ice as well as by the movement of the retreating ice during the meltdown. The land started rising rapidly after the ice had melted and it is still rising and creating 1km more land each year. The Kvarken archipelago is less than 2000 years old and people only settled here 1000 years ago. Why fish thrive here... 2km 3km Ice Replot Vaasa 2
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A description about my the fishing and fish stocks are so prolific around the Kvarken archipelago
Transcript of Why fish thrive in the Kvarken Archipelago
1km
10 000 years ago
10 000 years ago
4000 years ago 2000 years ago
The Kvarken archipelago has been shaped by the ice movementduring the last ice age. The heavy ice sheet pushed down the bedrock and grind it into gravel and boulders. This gravelis called moraine and it is shaped in ridges formed by rivers and currents under the ice as well as by the movement of the retreating ice during the meltdown. The land started risingrapidly after the ice had melted and it is still rising and creating1km more land each year. The Kvarken archipelago is less than2000 years old and people only settled here 1000 years ago.
Why fish thrive here...
2km
3km
IceReplot
Vaasa
2
Present day
Viewed from above
The Kvarken archipelago today consist of 7000 islands and little islets. The seais very shallow and rocks lie scattered all over, making it a navigators nightmare,but a paradise for fish.
The Kvarken area has a rapid water exchange due to the masses of water thatconstantly spill out into the Bothnian Bay from the rivers up north. This makesthe water brackish with a low salinity of 4-5‰. The surface currents bring alongnutrients and make the area highly productive. This maritime ecosystem sustains a unique combination of fresh and saltwater species.
As the land rises, morain ridges can cut off bays from thesea, which will eventually turn into lakes. These enclosed bays, so called Fladas, are well protected areas and perfect for fish to spawn in.
Flada
Glo-lake
Morain ridge
The main fish species found in the Kvarkenarchipelago are Perch, Baltic herring, Whitefish, Pike, Sea trout, Salmon, Ide, Ruffe, Roach,Burbot, Grayling, Bream & Flounder.
Fish and Seals were the main reason why people settled in the area, and fish is still an important part of the diet for people living in the archipelago.Today seal hunting is prohibited and the sealpopulations are thriving. People in thearchipelago still fish to eat, but there are only3000 people living here permanently (less thanthere are seals in the area), so the fish stocksaren’t deminishing all too rapidly.
