Only a handful freshwater fish species are still commercially sought after in Sweden. Subsistence fishing in lakes and rivers is also rare nowadays and has in general been replaced by recreational fishing. However, fishing for European smelt, Osmerus eperlanus (L.), once popular in many areas of central Sweden, has survived into the twenty-first century, particularly in the province of Värmland, as a minor, but interesting regional food speciality. It is a dish with character, since smelt has a very particular scent and it is therefore esteemed by some and rejected by others. Nowadays, it is eaten locally, especially by the elder generations, and attempts to popularize it as a regional food have so far failed. However, smelt deserves to be marketed as a regional culinary specialty, and has great potential to become popular among modern foodies. A traditional dish known as “smelt pancake” can be promoted. Interesting enough, there are new categories of smelt enthusiasts that have discovered the possibility of fishing in large numbers in spring, especially Thai and other immigrants. There are also a significant numbers of sojourners and visitors from the Baltic States, especially Lithuanians, fishing for smelt in Värmland.

For the rural population in Sweden, fishing in lakes and rivers was of great importanceuntil recently. Many fish species served as food or animal fodder, or were used tomake glue and other useful products. But the receding of lakes in the nineteenthcentury, and the expansion of hydropower and worsening of water pollution in thetwentieth, contributed to the decline of inland fisheries. At the same time, marinefish became more competitive on the Swedish food market. In some regions, however,certain freshwater species continued to be caught for household consumption wellinto the twentieth century. One such species was the smelt (Osmerus eperlanus),which fifty years ago was still of economic importance. Nowadays, however, smeltis only caught in very low volumes; its role is therefore insignificant. In neighbouringcountries, however – such as Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia – it is still being exploitedcommercially. In Germany, where water quality has improved in rivers and restaurantshave shown increasing interest in smelt, a successful revival for the fish as a regionaland seasonal food can be seen. Smelt fishing has dimensions which are not onlyculinary, but social and cultural as well. Traditional ways of food preparation can betransformed into modern haute cuisine. Smelt fishing has the potential to developcommercially in Sweden also.

How were fishponds introduced, farmed and spread in Scandinavia and the Baltic Region in early modern times? What was their economic, social and religious importance? Which fish species were significant and why?

This book uncovers a long, now broken, tradition that barely left traces in the written record or physical environment. Its broad and multidisciplinary scope highlights the situation from medieval times until the late nineteenth century. Besides Scandinavia and the Baltic States, insights from England are also introduced.

Several socio-cultural domains have been identified: late medieval monastic fishponds; late medieval aristocratic fishponds associated with castles and manors; seventeenth and eighteenth century ponds rectory ponds as well as urban ponds from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century.

Although once popular prior to the last century, the aquaculture of crucian carp Carassius carassius (L. 1758) in Sweden gradually fell from favour. This is the first genetic comparison of crucian carp from historic man-made ponds in the Scandinavian Peninsula. The aim was to identify old populations without admixture and to compare the relationship of pond populations from different provinces in Sweden. In total, nine microsatellite loci from 234 individuals from 20 locations in varied parts of Sweden were analysed. The genetic distances of crucian carp populations indicated that the populations in the southernmost province of Sweden, Scania, shared a common history. A pond population in the province Småland also showed a common inheritance with this group. In the province Uppland, further north in Sweden, the population genetic distances suggested a much more complex history of crucian carp distributions in the ponds. The data showed that there are some ponds with potentially old populations without admixture, but also that several ponds might have been stocked with fish from many sources.