Russia to build fish processing factory in Spitsbergen

A fish processing factory will be built in the Russian village of Barentsburg in Spitsbergen, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to the decision announced by Russia's fishery industry head Andrey Krainy at a press-conference in late January 2009.

The new factory will receive catches of the Russian vessels operating in the waters of Spitsbergen. The way from the fishing grounds to Barentsburg will take only one hour thus reducing the fishermen's costs of sailing to more distant ports.

The project's design will be developed in 2009. The factory will be constructed by the Norwegian specialists because Norway has a very strict environmental legislation and the Norwegians have a habit of complying with these laws.

Note: Spitsbergen is one of three inhabited islands in the archipelago, and according to the terms of the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920, citizens of any of the signatory countries may settle in the archipelago and exploit natural resources. Currently, only Norway and Russia make use of this right. The largest settlement on Spitsbergen is the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen, while the second largest settlement is the Russian coal mining settlement of Barentsburg (which was sold by the Netherlands in 1932 to the Soviet company Arktikugol).