Summary
This study analyzes the impacts of annual temporal fishing closures of gillnet fisheries in Lake Saimaa, Finland on bycatch/recovery of the Saimaa ringed seal population from 1991-2021. Results show that fishing was responsible for 26% of observed mortality and 90% of that was from gillnet entanglement, but most bycatch mortalities are likely not observed and therefore underestimated. Longer temporal coverage of annual closures would improve juvenile survival, but the coverage may be regionally adequate.