Translated material
The best fishing
"Fish" auctions are becoming overgrown with scandalous details
The Ministry of Economic Development and the State Fisheries Committee held a repeat “fish” auction yesterday (though without the “new” head of the committee, Evgeniy Nazdratenko: “Evgeniy Ivanovich was solving more important problems,” his subordinates explained). The scandal with the refusal of the declared participants from the auction, as ten days ago, did not happen, but details have surfaced that indicate that all the storms over the very existence of auctions for the distribution of quotas for catching aquatic biological resources, and the technology for conducting them, are still to come.Pollock fishing quotas were sold yesterday: out of 151 lots on offer, 95 were sold, and they sold at starting prices or close to them; total budget income amounted to 171.2 million rubles. The next auction is scheduled for March 23. The leadership of the Ministry of Economic Development hopes to see foreigners there: “This will show the price that foreign participants are willing to pay for the lot in comparison with Russian ones,” said First Deputy Head of the Ministry Ivan Materov. The starting price for foreign participants, according to Mr. Materov, will remain the same.
However, as Russian auction participants complain, foreigners have already entered the auction. At the first auction on February 17, they claim, a certain South Korean company bought 10 lots for pollock fishing through a front company. “You can’t get away from this,” Mr. Materov complained about this. First Deputy Head of the State Fisheries Committee Alexander Moiseev spoke in the same spirit: “I do not exclude such a possibility, but I cannot confirm it. The main thing is that everything is done legally.”
But the reluctance of domestic fishermen to see foreigners at auctions is not the only reason to doubt their presence at the next auction. At least 10 days after the auction will be required to obtain permission. And the fishing period in the Kamchatka-Kuril and Western Kamchatka zones ends on March 31, in the north of the Sea of Okhotsk - on April 15. The State Fisheries Committee has the right to extend this period by no more than 10 days. Moreover, as a representative of Dalmoreproduct Trawlers explains, in accordance with intergovernmental agreements, foreign vessels cannot rise north above 55 degrees, and “fishing in April is precisely 55 and above.” To which Mr. Moiseev explained: “If they buy quotas, then we will somehow resolve this issue.”
However, Dalmoreproduct, which, according to evil tongues, initiated the demarche ten days ago, has developed a “special relationship” with the Ministry of Economic Development. Back on February 12, Ivan Materov warned the company in a telegram that Dalmoreproduct would be able to obtain permission to fish according to the purchased quotas only if taxes and payments to the federal budget and extra-budgetary funds were paid. Otherwise, in accordance with current legislation, the deposit will not be returned.
Having received such an unequivocal warning, Dalmoreproduct became worried (who is without debt) and even wrote a letter to Minister German Gref asking for clarification. Whether the minister explained it or not is unknown to the Vremya Novostei newspaper. It is only known that when referring to “legislation,” the deputy minister meant the law “On the Exclusive Economic Zone.”
And Dalmoreproduct, represented by first vice-president Vladimir Borshchan, told our newspaper that the company has a debt of 90 thousand dollars to pay for the use of aquatic biological resources, but for “saury, which we didn’t even catch.” The company, says Mr. Borschan, entered into “very strict” contracts with the State Unitary Enterprise “Natsresurs” (which was engaged in the paid distribution of quotas). “The quotas were purchased for a North Korean company, but they have a very weak fleet - no communications, no control devices.” “Dalmoreprodukt,” says Mr. Borschan, was engaged in equipping Korean ships with the missing equipment. However, by the time all the equipment was purchased, “the fishery was lost—we were too late.”
It is likely that the newly appointed head of the State Fisheries Committee, who did not appear at the auction yesterday, will also have to resolve the flaring conflict between Mr. Materov and Dalmoreproduct. However, the negative attitude of the former governor of one of the most fishing regions towards the practice of auctions has been known for a long time. Representatives of the companies that organized the demarche hinted in informal conversations yesterday that they hope for a speedy abolition of the auction mechanism.