Currently, the crab fleet in the country has 154 vessels, 90 percent. of which are foreign-made. It is planned that 36 new vessels will be built.

Auction of new crab quotas expected to generate nearly USD 1.3 billion

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Wednesday, April 24, 2019, 01:20 (GMT + 9)

Russia’s Federation Council has approved a law that provides for the introduction of a new type of crab catch quotas.

The law, which had been adopted by the State Duma (the Lower House of the Russian Parliament) on 10 April, establishes that investment crab quotas will be allocated based on the results of auctions.

Under the bill, 50 per cent of the total allowable catch (TAC) of crab will be provided for this type of quotas.

The Federation Council approved the law on the introduction of investment quotas for crab fisheries - Federal Agency for Fisheries

The shares of the investment quota will be assigned to users for 15 years based on the results of electronic auctions. Auction winners will be obliged to implement an investment project within a period of five years from the date of the conclusion of the agreement on granting a share of the TAC.

It is expected that the adoption of the law will provide additional revenue for the federal budget of RUB 82 billion (USD 1.28 billion), which is comparable with the amount of taxes in this segment for almost 20 years, according to Russia’s fisheries agency, Rosrybolovstvo.

In Otradnoe, at the Leningrad Shipyard Pella, is under construction the vessel for catching  crab under Project 03070 for Antey LLC

The funds will be primarily directed for the construction of research vessels required for stock assessment, with the aim of helping accelerate the development of domestic fisheries.

In connection with the adoption of the law, the Russian government expects construction of 36 new vessels at domestic shipyards worth some RUB 50 billion (USD 782.7 million), which will significantly improve the efficiency of the fishery and crew safety, said First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, Sergey Mitin.

“At present, the average life of the ships of the crab fleet exceeds 31 years. For 15 years, not a single Russian-made crab ship has been commissioned,” highlighted the senator.

Only companies registered in the regions belonging to the fisheries basins where the crab is caught will be admitted to the auctions. Thus, tax revenues will go directly to the budgets of the regions where the crab is harvested.

Ilya Shestakov, the head of the Russian fishery agency, noted that the adoption of the law does not impede the implementation of investment projects that are already underway. "Those companies that have already started projects have every opportunity to continue their further implementation," he said.

The law applies only to the capture of crabs and does not apply to other types of aquatic bioresources.

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