BarentsNews.com

In late August this year, a delegation of the State Fisheries Committee headed by Chairman Yevgeny Nazdratenko, visited Kaliningrad. It was Mr Nazdratenko’s first visit to the Baltic port.

Kaliningrad region’s economy is based principally on fishery, with 195 enterprises involved in the sector. Compared to other Russian ports, Kaliningrad has been recently the most government-favoured one, enjoying special benefits from the customs and border authorities. Since last October, for example, Kaliningrad vessels were allowed to fish beyond the 12-mile zone, and time-consuming customs procedures were abolished for them.

Besides, Russia’s international quota for fishing in the Baltic convention areas was raised from 5 to 10 %.

This time, the Fisheries Committee chief decided to go still further, meeting Kaliningrad’s requests for increasing their share in the total allowable catch for North-West Russia. In particular, Kaliningrad fishermen were generously provided with a larger 2003 quota for catching cod in the Barents Sea.

It would be strange to expect their Murmansk counterparts get too happy about such a decision. Troubles have been piling day by day for local fishery players. Still stranger is that they are trying to be optimistic, even under current circumstances. There are two reasons for that: first, Kaliningrad vessels were given 7 % of the total cod quota against the 10 % they asked for; second, all fish catches hauled in the Barents Sea will go to Russian ports, meaning that Murmansk fish processors will probably profit by that as well.

But whatever the consolations, the Murmansk region’s fishing sector has obviously got another hard blow. Given that the quotas gifted to Kaliningrad are supposed to be valid for 5 years, it will take a long time to change the situation.