Russia sets rules for quota distribution to foreign companies

Russia’s government has created a new framework for the distribution of fish quotas to foreign companies fishing in Russian waters. 

According to a decree signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in late January, the quotas will be allocated by Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries. The agency will make its decision on the basis of recommendations proposed by a still-to-be-formed interdepartmental working group. The group will include representatives of the Fishery Agency as well as the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Economic Development. 

The working group will be tasked with the establishment of new quotas or increasing the existing ones. 

Recommendations of foreign fishing companies will be based on several critical points, with bilateral agreements, the abundance of targeted fisheries, and the minimal and recommended size of payments the top factors. Each bidder’s history in the fishery, going back three years, as well as past compliance with Russia’s tax legislation, will also be taken into consideration.

The working group will also consider demand from domestic companies for access to the fisheries in question, and Russian fishing vessels are permitted to fish in the waters of the applicant’s country of origin. 

The government’s decree is to come into effect on 1 April, 2018.