Agreement with Russia on fishing in the Baltic Sea

Agreement with Russia on fishing in the Baltic Sea

On 28 April, the European Community and the Russian Federation signed an agreement on cooperation in fisheries and the conservation of the living marine resources in the Baltic Sea. The six year agreement will improve ecological and economically sustainable fishing. It will also contribute to natural recovery of fish stock and to protection of the sea bed from damage caused by fishing nets. The annual turnover of Baltic fishing by the EU is estimated at EUR 500 million.

Milena Vicenová, the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic, and Commissioner Joe Borg signed the Agreement on behalf of the European Community. The Russian Federation was represented by Andrei Krayniy (Андрей Анатольевич Крайний), the chief of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries.

„We have agreed a foundation for protecting fish stock in the Baltic Sea,” said Milena Vicenová. „EU fishing fleets will be able to operate in the exclusive economic zone of Russia, while the Russians will have access to the community waters. Cooperation is mutually beneficial while it helps protect the environment.”

The Agreement anticipates specific technical measures which will for example specify areas closed for fishing, limit number of days which fishing fleets can spend on sea and define the mesh-size to avoid gathering fish which is not fit for processing. The Agreement also constitutes a joint committee to observe adherence to it by the contracting parties.

The Agreement was signed at the European Seafood Exhibition in Brussels which takes place from 28 to 30 April. Exhibitors come from over 80 countries.