Guinea-Bissau waters one of most productive areas for Russian fishing industry - expert
MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Guinea-Bissau's exclusive economic zone, into which Russian-flagged trawler Oleg Naidenov has returned from Senegalese captivity, has become one of the most productive areas for the Russian fishing industry along with the Far East, the head of a Russian fishing news agency said.
Russian ships caught 2,300 tonnes of fish in Guinea-Bissau's waters during the last week of January alone. This included 1,500 tonnes of sardinella and 700 tonnes of mackerel, Alexander Savelyev told Interfax. He said eight Russian trawlers, including the Oleg Naidenov, had been fishing in the area that week.
Altogether, Russian companies caught 68,400 tonnes of pollack, 12,800 tonnes of cod, 7,400 tonnes of Pacific herring, 1,600 tonnes of haddock, 1,500 tonnes of sardinella and other fish in the last week of January, Savelyev said, citing the Monitoring Center for Fisheries.
The Oleg Naidenov was detained by the Senegalese navy in Bissau-Guinean waters early this month for allegedly illegal fishing and escorted to Dakar. The Russian crew rejected the accusations.
After protracted talks, the trawler was released on $1-million bail paid by its owner, the Fenix company of Murmansk, Russia.
In Russia, the ship's seizure has been seen as part of struggles for fish resources off West Africa.
