Abstract: Inland
fisheries are important sources of ecosystem services contributing to human
diet, health, well-being and economies. The evaluation of the importance and
value of inland fisheries is one of the biggest challenges for its development.
To develop the inland fisheries data collection, we reviewed the current status
of data collection in European countries and provided five detailed country
examples. The specific country examples give detailed description of data
collection, focusing on: 1) country-wide postal survey (Finland) and 2)
web-based survey and development of citizen science approach (Denmark). Example
3) from Ireland focuses on recreational salmonid fishing and conservation
limits. There are two examples based on logbook returns: 4) one strict system,
which is considered to work well (Czech Republic) and 5) one less controlled
system, currently not producing reliable results, and under development
(Croatia). Case studies were provided in each country example. Finally, the
authors discuss the important aspects of inland fisheries data collection and
review the methods to provide recommendations.