User:Document hippo/Smelt crisis in St. Petersburg



European smelt, a species of fish with a characteristic smell of fresh cucumbers, was once a popular meal of denizens of the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. At a great loss to the culinary tradition of the city, smelt has floated away from St. Petersburg rivers.

While it stuck around, smelt was also known by its local name, koryushka.

Smelt city
Smelt used to be a quite popular species of fish in St. Petersburg, owing to its abundance in the spring and ease to cook. For a long time, it was an important part of the culinary tradition of the city. During the spring fishing season, the smelt could be found at any food counter or a cafe around the city. Anna Huddleston, respresenting the ITMO University, cited her friend who said, I gutted and fried four kilos of koryushka and I don’t even like it that much. But hey, it’s a tradition.

Cooks from the Russian northwest had even composed poems dedicated to smelt.

While smelt used to be quite widespread in St. Petersburg, now it's been mainly fished in the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea.

Media lies
Smelt used to be also caught in the Gulf of Finland, the Neva River and Lake Ladoga.

According to the state-controlled TV station "St. Petersburg", in 2020 fishing season 380 tons of smelt have been caught by April 20. However, experts have voiced their concerns due to lack of media freedom in Russia, which is especially problematic since after 2010 food security in Russia is considered to be a matter of national security. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has notoriously remarked that, Contrary to a common perception, mass media is an instrument, rather than an institution.

Smelt crisis
According to professor of Russian Catriona Kelly, since after 1991, smelt which was once cheap in St. Petersburg has become a "regional speciality". Polina Pretro asserts that it takes a talented and skilful journalist to figure out why the smelt has floated away from the rivers of St. Petersburg.