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'More than 500 thousand tons of cod annually...'
Government approves UK fishing ban in Barents Sea
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
The Russian government has approved the denunciation of the agreement with Great Britain on the right to engage in fishing in the waters of the Barents Sea, the Cabinet of Ministers reported on its website.
“Government decision: to approve the draft federal law “On the denunciation of the Agreement between the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Fisheries” and submit it to the State Duma in the prescribed manner,” the press service noted.
The bill provides for the denunciation of the agreement under which fishing vessels assigned to British ports could fish in the waters of the Barents Sea.
Photo: ukfisheries.net/media-centre/clearing-the-fog-on-uk-fishing | Click image to enlarge it
The government noted that when creating the document, they took into account the UK’s decision of March 15, 2022 to terminate the most favored nation regime in bilateral trade.
London introduced restrictions against Moscow on February 24, 2022, and then expanded them many times. As of the end of December, there were about 1.8 thousand Russians on the sanctions list. As Ambassador to Britain Andrei Kelin noted, restrictions on most of them were introduced without any evidence and it would be correct to challenge them in court.
Experts assessed the consequences of the denunciation of the agreement with the UK on fisheries
(1).jpg) "Russia is forced to terminate the agreement with Great Britain on fishing in the Barents Sea. The corresponding bill has already been approved by the government. The procedure for denouncing the 1956 agreement was launched in response to the unfriendly actions of this country", German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE), told RG.
He recalled that in the summer of 2022, the UK introduced sanctions against Russia, which include an additional 35% levy on imports of domestic white fish. Prior to this, our country was subject to most favored nation treatment within the WTO. The duty on white fish has reduced the price attractiveness of Russian fish for UK processors and distributors.
The expert also noted that for almost 70 years this agreement allowed British vessels to fish along the coast of the Kola Peninsula, along the mainland east of Cape Kanin Nos, as well as along the coast of Kolguev Island and on the islands. According to its terms, any of the parties can refuse it at any time, so there are no violations on the part of Russia.
 According to Andrey Suzdaltsev, deputy dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, breaking the agreement with Great Britain is a continuation of today’s “fishing wars.” He recalled that in the fifties of the last century, the Soviet Union had huge fish reserves, some of which were not even developed. And the agreement was concluded to strengthen good neighborly relations with Western countries, and above all with Great Britain, which had already become a nuclear power at that time. The USSR leadership believed that with the help of such a kind gesture it would be possible to stop the Cold War and stop the arms race. Moreover, British trawlers could not only fish near the Kola Peninsula, but even anchor.
“And they retained this opportunity until today. As a result, now the British consider these waters almost their own and every year they send a fishing fleet to them, which primarily catches cod. And this is one of the most valuable fish, rich in vitamins.” , - the expert emphasized.
 He also noted that UK stores today mainly sell white fish, half of which is caught on our territory. And this is more than 500 thousand tons annually. “It turns out that in our own waters we are being robbed by a country that is pursuing a harsh anti-Russian policy against us,” Suzdaltsev concluded.
Associate Professor of the Department of Regional Economics and Geography of the Faculty of Economics of RUDN University Tatyana Kreidenko noted in an interview with RG that this case is the first in the world practice of denouncing international agreements in the food sector. She predicted serious consequences for such a decision for UK fisheries, which are already in crisis after the country left the European Union. “This decision does not have any consequences for the Russian economy, since the document does not provide for any preferences for our country,” the expert concluded.
Source: RIA Novosti / Rossiyskaya Gazeta (translated from original in russian)
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