5 Oct 2009 22:06

Russia, Norway discussing fishing rules

MOSCOW. Oct 5 (Interfax) - Russia and Norway are to draw up rules on the long-term stable management of the fishing resources of the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea, Alexander Savelyev, head of the public relations center of the Russian Fisheries Agency (Rosrybolovstvo), said on Monday.

The matter is on the agenda for the 38th session of the Russian-Norwegian commission on fisheries that opened in Sochi, Russia, on Monday, Savelyev told Interfax.

Rosrybolovstvo chief Andrei Krainy heads the Russian delegation to the talks. The chief Norwegian negotiator is Jorn Krog, secretary general of the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.

Savelyev said the two delegations would also share fishing statistics for 2008 and for the period since the start of 2009, and would consider proposals for technical and other measures for fishing regulation.

They would set the total allowable catches for 2010 and national catch quotas for Russia and Norway. They would also consider regulatory measures for catching various species of fish and seafood and hear reports from the commission's standing committees on the implementation of earlier decisions, primarily decisions on fishing management and control.

Savelyev cited Krog as saying at the opening of the session that there is every reason for the total allowable catches for 2010 to be larger than those for 2009.

The agenda also included discussions on rules on the issue of permission for fishing by both countries and rules on fishing, including in waters off Spitsbergen that are the source of a sovereignty dispute between Russia and Norway.

There would also be a presentation of a pilot project on the electronic reporting on fishing prepared by Rosrybolovstvo's Monitoring and Communications Center.

The session closes on Friday.

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