Life after cod: Latvia reinvents its coastal communities

Ventspils, Latvia (AFP) July 30, 2025

Fishers do not usually wish for a "perfect storm". But Latvian boating communities are hoping for exactly that: a rare tempest that might, one day, revive waning stocks of Baltic cod. Decreasing salinity in the Baltic Sea is robbing the saltwater fish of the conditions it needs to thrive. And as its population shrinks, so do the fishing traditions that have long characterised villages a