Russia's Antimonopoly Service and Federal Fisheries Agency disputing over quota auction cancellation

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has initiated a court suit on violation of antimonopoly legislation against the nation's Federal Fisheries Agency in connection with cancellation of the auction on Pacific salmon quotas for capture in the Russian EEZ which was scheduled for August 2009, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to the Service's press-service.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service has actually received a lot of complaints from the fishermen in connection with the auction's cancellation three days before the deadline for filing the applications. In the meantime, according to the Government's order No.602 dated 12 August 2008 stipulating rules for the auctions, cancellation is allowed no later than 10 days before the applications' deadline.

The Russian fishery businesses and associations claim that due to the cancellation by Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency the fishing companies have been both disabled to harvest Pacific salmon in 2009 and incurred losses estimated at RUB1 billion. The federal budget has respectively failed to receive RUB500 million as tax disbursements. The companies' missed profit amounts to more than RUB2.5 billion, the fishermen say.

The applicants also underline that such measure has actually given privilege to foreign companies operating in the Russian EEZ. All the capture quotas given to foreign countries have been distributed among the users and, as a result, the Japanese fishing companies, unlike the Russian fishermen, have been authorized to harvest Pacific salmons.

The case is to be first heard on 23 December 2009.