Putin reckons changes to fishing industry law to be approved in spring session
MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - Amendments to laws governing the fishing industry stipulating an increase in supplies of fresh and refrigerated fish to Russia will be approved by the State Duma during the spring session, President Vladimir Putin said.
"I am assuming this bill will become law, approved by the State Duma, in the spring session this year," Putin said during the direct line public call-in event. At present, the bill "is undergoing endless agreement between the various government bodies," he said.
The amendments are needed because a significant portion of Russia's fish harvest is shipped abroad, returning to Russia in the form of frozen food from China. "The sense of the amendments that are being drafted is that fish ought to be brought ashore in either fresh or refrigerated form, while, based on economic considerations, the experts in this field say freezing and then shipping somewhere else is no longer profitable," he said.
In addition, the possibility of provided fishing enterprises 20% investment quotas, of which 5% goes to onshore infrastructure development and 15% to construction of new ships, the so-called keel quota, is currently being considered, Putin said.