Fish from Finland

2nd class stamps

On 15 January, three non-denominated 2nd class stamps were issued in Finland, depicting provincial fishes; the bream of Häme, the lake trout of Central Finland and the pike of Aland. The new stamps are selfadhesive roll stamps. The bream, the lake trout and the pike are in the roll one after another. The roll of a hundred stamps is priced at 47 euro.

Roll stamps

The roll stamps are designed especially for the needs of smallish companies, societies and such like. The non-denominated 2nd class stamps are valid for letters and postcards up to 50 grams in Finland, when posted in lots of a minimum of 20 pieces. The symbol "2" has to be written on top of the address side, and the lot needs to be taken to a post office, not to a mail box.

Uniform style

"I designed these three stamps as a set, in a uniform style. As connecting elements I chose the typography and the water background", says Ms Päivi Vainionpää, who designed the fish stamps. In her work, she has used photographs by Mr Reijo Juurinen, Mr Kalevi Vesterinen and Mr Hans Viitasola (Luonnonkuva-arkisto).

Bream

The bream (Abramis brama) is easy to recognise: it is flat and high and has a long anal fin and a small mouth. The bream is a cyprinid fish that is 25-50 cm long and weighs 0,5-2 kg, common in Finnish lakes and rivers as far as north as Sodankylä in Lapland. It sucks nutrition from the bed silt with its mouth stretching into the shape of a horn. The bream is one of the best cyprinid fishes and it is an excellent food fish.

Lake trout

The lake trout (Salmo trutta m. lacustris) belongs to the salmonoids; it reminds of the salmon but it is chubbier and more spotted. Its overall colour is silver. The lake trout is approximately 40-70 cm long and weighs 0,5-4 kg. It thrives in big, deep lakes and clear, clean rivers. As its near relatives, the sea trout living in the Baltic Sea and the brown trout thriving in small rivers, the lake trout is also greatly appreciated at the dinner table.

Pike

The pike (Esox lucius) is long and slim all the way up to its snout. It is brownish or greenish in colour with yellow stripes, and its dorsal and anal fins are close to the tail. In some rare cases the pike can reach a weight of 25-30 kg. The pike is greedy, big-headed and big-mouthed predatory fish that preys on other fish even up to its own size. It is common throughout Finland. It hides in sheltered coastal waters and shallow waters with rich vegetation. Leisure and sports fishermen like to catch pike, although many consider its meat rather tasteless.
Stamp issue: Finland, 15 January 2003

More information

Lapland