Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency encouraging private investments into nation's aquaculture sector

The current financial crisis has encouraged Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency to search for new methods of raising efficiency of the fishery sector. In this connection it has recently proposed investment measures aimed at developing aquaculture production via more abundant recruitment, the plan providing for participation of both the Agency's departments and private businesses, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to the Federal Fisheries Agency.

More specifically, the Agency says it hopes to achieve larger recruitment more preferably via increased investments against reduced budget funding. In this connection, the Agency is ready to consider proposals on possible privatization, lease or other use of some of the nation's fish reproduction facilities by private and state partnerships.

At present, the Fisheries Agency is looking into two main ways to increase Russia's seafood production with the use of the property complex managed by the Agency's departments and subordinate organizations. The first way consists in participation of the Agency's affiliates engaged in stock reproduction in commodity fish farming operations. The second one way is to attract investments into the measures aimed at increasing commercial fish resources.

Therefore, the Federal Fisheries Agency is now open to proposals from private investors willing to use the Agency's property complex for commodity fish farming as well as proposals how to increase fish fry release to the water bodies used for commodity ranching. One of the forms of such cooperation provides for lease of fish hatcheries by businesses engaged in commercial fisheries of aquatic fish species which are also objects of artificial reproduction.

Aquatic bioresources farmed at the fish hatcheries subordinate to the Agency may be stocked into the water bodies used for sport and recreational fishery. Besides, such stocking can also compensate for the loss to aquatic biological resources and their habitat caused by the economic activity.