The Russia's Federal Agency for Fisheries has announced it is redesigning its fisheries management system, focusing on clamping down on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Plans are underway to enhance coordination between the agency and other government watchdogs and introduce new incentives to stimulate the staff to crack down on illegal activities, the agency said in a release. Currently, more than 200 entities within the agency’s structure, with approximately 2,540 inspectors, are responsible for overseeing fishing in the country’s rivers, lakes, and seas.
The poor financial state of the its inspection facilities, inadequate salaries, and a lack of up-to-date equipment hinder the inspectors from efficient work and lead to low levels of efficiency in combating illegal fishing, the agency said in a press release. The agency also said Russia’s current legal framework as it pertains to IUU fishing also has shortcomings, including the absence of an inspector’s right to destroy seized equipment and release a seized catch, and weak involvement of regional and municipal authorities in addressing the issue.
The agency’s plan for revamping its operations includes: better equipment of staff to enhance their analytical and scientific capabilities; the development of a state-of-the-art monitoring system of fishing vessels operating in Russian waters; a new communications plan to allow the agency to work more comprehensively with other government bodies responsible for law enforcement in relation to natural resources; a push to involve civil organizations in combating illegal fishing; and improved coordination between game wardens and fisheries inspectors, resulting in an effective threefold increase in the number of inspectors on the ground in Russia.
The agency is also promoting the revival of a scheme implemented with success between 1986 and 2000, which distributed a portion of the fines applied to IUU violators to the inspection team. The program was successful before it was disbanded, the agency said.
