WWF took part in the first Far Eastern Fishery Forum in Vladivostok.

9 July 2004

Representatives of large and medium fishing companies, management structures, including new established Federal Agency for Fishery, enforcement bodies, etc. took part in the Forum.

On July 7-9, 2004 in Vladivostok the 1st Far East Fishery Forum was held. Representatives of big and medium fishing companies, management structures, including new established Federal Agency for Fishery, enforcement bodies, etc. participated in it.

Fishing operations, processing, marketing, living resources protection were under consideration. The main document, which served as a basis for discussions, was a report on fishery industry reform to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, prepared by working group, headed by the governor of Primorsky kray, Sergey Darkin.

It is important that many fishermen showed deep concern about big scale poaching activity in Russian EEZ. They consider this not only as a factor, undermining resources, but market of fish products also by dumping. Potential entering of Russia to WTO and FAO was discussed.

The Far East office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF RFE) actively participated in the Forum work. The marine program coordinator K. Zgurovsky made presentation of marine environmental certification for fisheries, prepared with Meredith Lopuch (WWF US).

WWF supported the proposal, made by several Russian fishermen and exporters (ROLIZ and others) to put in practice a mandatory passing for all fish, caught in Russian 200-miles EEZ, through Russian ports as an effective tool against illegal and unreported catch.

Moreover, WWF proposed:

Consider marine living resources and ecosystems protection and biodiversity conservation as an integral part of sustainable fishery;

Foresee for creation of effective national system of fishery observers for reliable information collecting about catches and negative effect of fishing operations, including by-catch data;

Taking into consideration the threat of big-scale oil and gas development in most productive areas of the Russian Far East shelf, it is necessary to work out and/or finalize several legislative documents, like the Coastal Code;

For effective development of near-shore fishery in Russia, the US communities development quotas (CDQ) system should be studied;

We agreed with Associations of fishermen of Primorsky kray and Kamchatka to meet on a regular basis to talk about the Marine Stewardship Council sustainable fishery (MSC) principles and other environmentally sound issues.

The US film on seabird by-catch avoidance, using effective and simple technology, was demonstrated during the Forum exhibition. One Russian gear manufacturer showed interest to produce them, if there will be demand for it.

The Forum showed that it is proper time to work closely with reliable, responsible fishermen on many issues and win over them to our side in our struggle with different threats to marine ecosystems: over-fishing, pollution, smuggling, etc.

For additional information please contact

Elena Starostina, Press-officer (WWF Russia Far - Eastern Branch), tel/fax: (4232) 41-48-68, send e-mail

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