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At the urgent meeting convened two weeks ago by the Russian State Fisheries Committee, industrial fishing quotas for 2003 were distributed among all the country’s regions engaged in fishery.
Following the meeting, however, the government made it clear that the allocation of available quotas for Barents Sea and North-East Atlantic resources could be reviewed, increasing considerably the Kaliningrad region’s share.
Such a generous gift to Kaliningrad would be a heavy blow for the Murmansk regional fishery, executives of Murmansk regional administration believe.
Decisions of Moscow fishing leaders are viewed here as unfair and short-sighted, as hefty social and economic problems that are likely to arise from them will be a concern of the federal authorities, too.
Fishermen of the Northern basin have seen their interests neglected not a single time, despite their numerous appeals to the government to take a closer look at the local problems, which are only worsened by other regions’ encroaching on the Barents Sea resources.
Kaliningrad region, for instance, was only in this year granted extra quotas for catching thousands of tonnes of cod and herring. Promises of support to Kaliningrad fish industry were voiced again during the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to Kaliningrad on October 21st.
As for Murmansk region’s fishermen, they can hardly expect any benefits from the federal chiefs.
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