Aug. 27 – The customs registration for all fish and bioresources caught by Russian vessels in all fishing territories including the Far East will be canceled, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised during a meeting in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatky.
“It is unfair, when someone who is fishing in customs territory of the Russian Federation has to pay a customs duty similar to any other imported article. It is nonsense,” Putin said.
“The question is about Russia’s inland sea waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf,” Timur Mitupov, a member of the Federal Agency for Fisheries explains.
“The customs duty collects from each caught fish whether it goes to an external or domestic market, and the price of the fish includes duty amount,” he said.
The fishers’ main concern is the enormously long period of time it takes to complete the required procedures.
“It is necessary to prepare a package of documents and when a mistake is made on one paper, you have to adjust the whole package. All this time the ship stays in a seaport and cargo remains over there,” Herman Zverev, head of the Pollack Catchers Association, said while adding that “fishermen are forced to spend a lot of money to maintain the catch.”
The first vice-premier Victor Zubkov has informed that the corresponding bill is being prepared by the Federal Agency for Fisheries.
The final edition of the bill will be introduced to the government before September 1st.
