Plans of Alaska pollock harvesters in 2007

In the year 2007 Alaska pollock Harvesters Association is planning to help implement legislation concerning rated APO roe yield because high yield figures will in fact conceal unreported young pollock discards.

Along with the above goals, the association is going to monitor the APO fishery, fight illegal operators and stand up for its member companies on the official level, according to President Igor Evtushok.

The association's plans also provide for tighter cooperation with its colleagues - Russian associations (VARPE Seafood Producers and Exporters Association, ARPP Primorye Fishermen's Association) and foreign countries (Japan, South Korea, China, the USA). Besides, the APO association is going to cooperate with scientific organizations.

The association has already started analyzing the current trends on the APO market. All of its members will receive exclusive analytical product which will be developed by a specially created analytical group.

Background

Non-commercial Alaska pollock Harvesters Association was established in summer 2006. It has united such largest fishing companies of the Russian Far East as Okeanrybflot, Roliz, NBAMR, Dalmoreproduct, Dalryba, Turnif, Intraros, Kamchatimpex, Magadanryba and others. The total list of the association's members includes 25 companies based in Vladivostok-led Primorye, Khabarovsk, Kamchatka, Magadan and Sakhalin.

At present the APO association is engaged in the following spheres:

• - Conservation of aquatic biological stocks, their environment and conditions for their reproduction;
• - Coordination of its members' commercial activities, including marketing policy;
• - Development of recommendations and proposals to forward to state bodies in charge for legislative regulation of the fishermen's operations;
• - Protection of common property interests of its members at all the levels of the state power as well as in the APO foreign trade;
• - Cooperation with state bodies towards better regulated and more efficient fight against illegal fisheries;
• - Cooperation with research organisations towards sustainable and efficient exploitation of aquatic biological stocks.

During the seafood exhibition Rybpromexpo 2006 which took place in Moscow on 1 and 2 November 2006 the association's initiative to restrict the APO roe yield to 4.5% of the harvest was discussed at the international scientific and practical conference called "Raising efficiency of exploitation of aquatic biological stocks". As a result, head of Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency Stanislav Ilyasov asked to prepare a draft document which should legally define scientific recommendations as to fish wastes, roe yield and losses in the Russian Far East Basin. Apart from the above, the association's specialists prepared and forwarded a letter to Deputy Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Izmailov in which they proposed rules of drawing statutory acts restricting the APO roe yield.

In the year 2006 the APO association took part in the Russian conference "Competition on the markets of Russia, CIS and foreign markets" and in the international conference "Container and reefer transportation in Russia and CIS".