By Johanna Lemola

Helsinki’s sea area is a source of recreation and good life.

A sure sign of spring in Helsinki is long lines of anglers on the constructed waterfront of Helsinki’s Cable Factory cultural centre – and many other places in the city. The buckets of the most determined anglers fill up with small fish that end up on dinner tables.

Further out, a 14,600-hectare sea area owned by the City of Helsinki welcomes licensed amateur fishers to enjoy the sea’s bounty. The Helsinki sea area hosts some 60 different species of fish, including the sea trout, zander and common whitefish. No other capital city in Europe boasts as many amateur fishermen as Helsinki, which claims tens of thousands of them.

From May to September, the waters of Helsinki are speckled with white sails. Sailing and boating are some of the favourite pastimes of Helsinki residents. Marinas managed by the City of Helsinki and private organizations provide 12,000 berths for Helsinki residents.

It may come as a surprise to many that the northern city of Helsinki is also a city of beaches! The city is served by 26 public beaches, 23 of them at the seaside. As soon as the weather turns summery, the beaches fill up with swimmers and sunbathers. Even before, when the water is still too chilly for most swimmers, the beaches attract eager windsurfers.

The public beaches are maintained by the City of Helsinki, and 13 of them are supervised from the beginning of June to early August. All beaches are maintained in a good and clean condition for the enjoyment of all. For example, the sea bottoms at beaches are cleaned by divers before the swimming season begins.

The water quality at Helsinki’s public beaches is monitored by the City of Helsinki Environment Centre with regular water samples and observation throughout the swimming season. The hygienic conditions of the swimming water at the seaside beaches have been consistently excellent or good.

However, high levels of toxic blue algae blooms can occur in late summer, especially after long periods of warm water.

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