Concern surfaces over Russia’s Fishery Agency

The transfer of Russia’s Federal Fishery Agency to the Ministry of Agriculture is raising concern among industry members, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS).

In a notice released late last week, the FAS said many industry members are apprehensive about the switch; previously, the Federal Fishery Agency operated independently of the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to the FAS, a number of fishing and seafood-producing organizations have sent a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressing displeasure with the move, which they say will impede the development of Russia’s fisheries. According to the letter, the agency has been restructured 15 times in the past 20 years and has been part of the Ministry of Agriculture four times.

The letter calls on the government “to create an executive body with a higher functional level than that of the agency” and said President Vladimir Putin supported this at the Russian Fishermen Congress in February.

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None