Lower House approved amendments to Law on Aquaculture
On June 2, 2021, the State Duma adopted in the third reading the draft of the Federal Law " On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Aquaculture (Fish Farming) and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", reports Megafishnet.com.
According to the Federal Agency for Fishery (FAF), the amendments create conditions for the conservation and rational use of aquatic biological resources, while also ensuring the growth of aquaculture production.
In particular, the amendments will allow the use of water bodies of less than 200 hectares for aquaculture purposes on the basis of a decision to grant water bodies for use in accordance with the Water Code.
The document also establishes the obligation of fish farms to report on their work to FAF, register breeding stocks of sturgeon species used for commercial aquaculture, and establishes at the legislative level traditional types of work on fishery reclamation of water bodies.
The most significant change is the clarification of the norms of the Land Code, according to which the land under the ponds built on agricultural land will retain its status as agricultural land. In recent years, a typical court practice has been formed, according to which all lands occupied by surface waters, by virtue of the provisions of Article 102 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, were automatically referred to as the lands of the Water Fund, under which the formation of land plots shall not be carried out.
The Courts, guided by the provisions of this article, did not take into account that the ponds were built on agricultural land owned or leased by users, nor that they were built for the purposes of commercial fish farming. As a result, the ponds would be withdrawn from the user.
The bill is aimed at protecting the interests of agricultural producers and improving the efficiency of the use of the relevant lands. The Bill will be made into law upon approval by the Upper House (Council of Federation) and signature by the President.