BarentsNews.com

Last week, a group of the Russian State Fisheries Committee representatives visited the fishing port of Murmansk, in order to evaluate the work of the port administration.

Selling fresh fish at Murmansk food stores is a long-disputed issue involving multiple interests.
According to the sanitary regulations passed in 1996, sale of any fresh fish is prohibited in the Murmansk region. However, the population, eager to consume the valuable protein-rich product, is buying chilled fish offered illegally at the local markets.

Six vessels of the Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet proceed with herring fishing in the Norwegian economic zone.

The Academic Board of PINRO research institute gathered again on September 11th, 2002, to discuss the amount of kamchatka crab by-catches to be allowed in the Barents Sea fishing grounds.

In late August, a meeting of the joint Russian – Norwegian Advisory Group on Barents Sea Fishing took place in Oslo.
One of the participants, Murmanrybvod’s chief Boris Prishchepa, reported the details of the meeting.

Union of Fish Industrialists of the North, a Murmansk-based association of fishing companies, reported unprecedentedly low catches over the last month. Total catch amount of its member enterprises fell to 19 000 tonnes in August, which is 4 000 tonnes less than expected.

On September 10th, 2002, Norwegian coast guards detained “Vasily Zaitsev”, a vessel owned by Murmansk Trawl Fleet-1, which had been fishing herring in the Norwegian economic zone. The next day, the same happened to another Russian vessel, the big stern refrigerated trawler “Tsimlyansk” belonging to Murmanseld-2.

It was reported that as of September 10th, 2002, the rates for oil transshipment in the Murmansk fishing port were raised. The overall growth is 30 percent of the previously charged tariffs, and is caused by increased energy, water supply and railway-related costs.

Collective farm is a notion remained since the Soviet years and today it seems to sound too old-fashioned. However, fishing collective farms are still existent in Russia. And the Union of Fishing Collective Farms (Rubakkolkhozsoyuz) still works in the Murmansk region.

Vadim Sokolov, deputy chairman of the Murmansk region’s Fisheries Committee, has commented upon the industrial quotas for catching shrimp and scallop to be offered at the September 27th auction.