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Fishermen of the Murmansk region are awaiting the forum in a nervous excitement: they hope to make at least part of their problems heard and understood by the federal authorities, but are afraid to expect too much of the forthcoming meeting, keeping in mind the futility of the last national fisheries forum, which was practically ignored by the government.
With the carrot-and-stick policy used by Moscow officials, it seems hard to figure out the position maintained by the State Fisheries Committee towards the north-west region. One day the fishermen are promised all kinds of assistance, next day Moscow issues another deadly regulation, leaving the regional fish industry nearly crushed. Maybe now, as many of the regional fish leaders headed by the governor Yury Yevdokimov arrive in Moscow ready for a dialogue, there will be a chance to understand each other better. At least, that’s what the Murmansk fishing entrepreneurs are hoping for.
The delegation of the Murmansk region numbering 45 persons is expected to be among the largest at the forum, second only to the Far East’s Primorsky Region. It looks like the number of delegates is directly dependent on the problems facing the regional fishing branch.
Overall, the forum will bring together about 350 participants representing the country’s regional fisheries, as well as about a hundred of national lawgivers and government officials.
While the first fishing forum held back in 1998 gave no evident results, this time the expectations of every Russian whose life is connected with fishery are very high.
The main objective is to analyze how one of the leading industries of the country has been reduced to such a pitiful state. It is obvious that the crisis in fishing has lasted too long now, and without taking urgent steps to get over it, the situation will be further aggravating up to the moment when the total collapse of the sector becomes a reality. Something has to be done with the fish industry immediately, until it is too late, and the November forum must play a key role in pushing the things forward.
The lack of a clearly defined state policy in the management of fishery is seen as the main reason for today’s miseries of Russian fishermen. With the legal anarchy currently dominating, people working in the sector are actually deprived of their rights, remaining vulnerable to the despotism of ministerial officials.
It means that time has come when passing a federal law on fisheries is an indispensable condition for the survival of the sector. And the sooner it happens, the more chances for improvement the industry will get. The federal law must lay the foundation of a renewed Russian fish industry.
The status of the country’s principal body in charge of fisheries is another problem that does not only hinder the industry development, but results in Russia’s inferior position among other fishing states. Pavel Sazhinov, chief legislator of the Murmansk region, thinks that the state government should consider forming the Ministry of Fisheries instead of the present Committee. He believes that in settling international disputes, like those relating to the Sea of Okhotsk or the Svalbard archipelago, the Russian Federation should be represented by a minister, not just by a high-rank official. The same idea has been voiced many times by other speakers on different levels.
The distribution of fishing quotas is likely to arouse the most violent debates at the Moscow meeting, as this problem is a sore point for all regions involved in fishery across the country. Murmansk is certainly not an exception in this regard, especially with all the injustices suffered recently by the local fishermen. Now they are determined to fight for their right to be treated equally with Arkhangelsk and other regions in obtaining the quotas for the Northern basin resources. These plans were discussed at the fishermen’s recent meeting with the governor Yevdokimov in the run-up for the national congress. Local fishing companies are not willing to share the resources they consider to be rightfully entitled to catch with any other region, despite the constant attempts of the federal chiefs to re-allocate the much-needed quota shares to the favored Kaliningrad.
Introduction of fish quota auctions is a thing that Russian fishermen cannot excuse or become reconciled with. At the Second Fishing Forum, participants will be demanding the abolition of quota auctions. This practice, found by the government as an extremely convenient way to replenish the federal treasury, is totally devastating for the country’s fishing sector. Therefore, the state must decide whether it is worth destroying the industry for the sake of a momentary budget relief.
With such an outline of the issues to be raised, the Second Fishing Forum is going to become a milestone in the history of the Russian fishery. However, nobody can tell for sure whether the event will really meet all these great hopes or become just one more disappointing experience.
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