The area proposed is located just southeast of Söderhamn and is a place where the herring is kept in the winters.
There, they want a trawl ban to apply during the period 1 January – 31 March next year.
The proposal has been submitted to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Swedish Maritime Administration (Hav).
- It is catastrophically bad fishing, but it is most serious for the ecosystem.
Herring is the backbone of the ecosystem, when it disappears you get negative consequences, says Aksel Ydrén, project manager at Kustfiskarna Bottenhavet.
"Last minute"
In February, Hav announced a package of measures to protect herring in the Baltic Sea.
But it has not been implemented yet, according to the organization.
- The package of measures is good if it can become a reality.
But partly it is uncertain and partly far too far in the future.
Last year, the fishermen said that the catch they previously got on one net is now available on ten nets, says Ydrén.
He says that large trawlers fish in the area to deliver fishmeal to Denmark.
- This is at the very last minute.
We have been fighting for many years for reduced quotas, but a temporary halt is better than nothing at all.
The sour herring is threatened
In addition to fish and the fishing industry, consumers are also affected - those who buy herring.
Partly because the catches are poor and partly because the size of the herring itself has decreased.
- This year, production has been halved. If it continues downwards, it will be very difficult to keep the industry going in the long run. It is difficult to see a future with herring if it continues like this, says Ydrén.