Long-term quota shares leading to less competition and poor exhaustion rate in major Russian pike-perch fishery

The ten year quota shares have led to poor quota exhaustion and declining competition between the fishermen harvesting freshwater species, and, in particular, pike-perch in the big Pskovsko-Chudskoe Lake, according to the region's government.

The resources are jointly managed and harvested by Russia and Estonia, and due to Olympic System with the neighboring country Estonia shows a better exhaustion rate of the national quota.

For example, in 2009 the Russian fishermen harvested 50.7% of their allocation versus more than 70% of the exhaustion by the Estonians. In 2010 the figures were 65.2% for Russia and 81.5% for Estonia.

According to Pskov Region's government, the fixed quota shares for limited stocks of freshwater fisheries lead to actual destruction of competition in the fishing sector.

The companies with small quota shares keep getting quotas for the next year as long as they cover at least 50% of the allocation and they are thus not motivated to develop and modernize their business.