Investment quotas were distributed among the fishermen

Disputes around the second stage of the investment quota program in the Russian fishing industry do not stop. The Association of Fishing Fleet Owners (ASRF) criticized the position of the Accounts Chamber, which revealed failures in the deadlines for fulfilling obligations on the part of the first investors and the risks of a deterioration in the industry’s economy. Other market participants urge to wait for the results of the auditors’ check before a new reallocation of resources.

ASRF (combines the structures of the Russian Fishery Company and Norebo Group of Companies) called the position of the auditor of the Accounts Chamber Sergei Mamedov, who criticized the bill on the second stage of the investment quota program, as biased. This is stated in a letter from the ASRF to Vladimir Kashin, chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Issues of the State Duma, dated October 5, which Kommersant has read. The committee staff did not provide a comment. The draft law on the second stage of the investment quota program is under consideration in the State Duma. It is planned to allocate 24% of quotas for herring and pollock in the Far East, 50% of quotas for crab and 100% of quotas for shellfish.

In August, when discussing the bill, Sergei Mammadov pointed out that the deadlines for the construction of vessels for the extraction of fish and crab following the results of the first stage are already being violated. In addition, according to the auditor, there are risks of a deterioration in the financial condition of investors of the second wave due to the cost of servicing loans, and a ban on the supply of fish products from Russia to the United States and possible similar measures by the EU will have a negative impact on the industry. The Accounts Chamber told Kommersant that the audit is ongoing and is not yet ready to comment on its results.

The ASRF also indicates that there are no violations of the deadlines for the implementation of investment objects by the fishermen. The construction of 33 fishing vessels under contracts with the Federal Agency for Fishery should be completed in 2025–2028, and 41 crab fishermen in 2025–2027. So far, only the shipyards are behind schedule in relation to investors, says ASRF President Alexei Osintsev. The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) indicates that the customers of the ships themselves insisted on using the projects of foreign companies, for which foreign equipment was used, the availability of which is now limited due to sanctions.

German Zverev, President of the All-Russian Association of Fishermen (VARPE), believes that out of 65 fishing vessels announced by 2025, less than 20 objects will actually be built. Previously, the WARPE advocated abandoning the new stage of distribution of investment quotas for crab harvesting and replacing it with a 2.8–8-fold increase in fees for resource extraction. The construction of ships is a complex project for any shipyards, not only for Russian ones, Sergey Sennikov, Deputy Director of Norebo Management Company, retorts. In his opinion, it is necessary to help shipyards, including in terms of financing and access to equipment.

They also do not see financial risks for fishermen in the ASRF. They refer to the data of the NIFI of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, according to which the key financial indicators of the industry have grown by 60-184% over the past six years. No more than 20% of all Russian exports of fish products were supplied to the United States, and other countries do not plan to introduce similar restrictions, Alexei Osintsev points out. ASRF asked Vladimir Kashin to take this into account when reviewing the project.

The Federal Agency for Fishery told Kommersant that the Accounts Chamber mixes up different concepts: contracts between the shipyard and ship customers, where there are delays, and the conditions for granting investment quotas, where the deadlines have not passed and were recently extended for two years. The agency added that, thanks to the program, investments in the industry grew from 15 billion rubles. in 2015 to 77 billion rubles. in 2021.

Georgy Martynov, President of the Association of Primorye Fisheries Enterprises (ARPP), believes that it is necessary to wait for the results of the audit of the Accounts Chamber for further discussion of the bill. And the head of the Information Agency for Fisheries, Alexander Savelyev, says that only a few large structures interested in the redistribution of the resource have an interest in the investment quota program, while other market participants are themselves interested in updating the fleet.

Alexey Polukhin