Russia's fishery industry head highlighting goals for nation's aquaculture development

In his report Andrey Krainy says that the Federal Fisheries Agency has worked out a program on aquaculture development and forwarded it for concerns to the federal executive bodies. The program defines trends for aquaculture development and differentiates powers between the federal centre and regional authorities as to building aquaculture infrastructure.

The legislative basis regulating aquaculture activities relies on a draft law "On aquaculture and on introducing amendments to particular acts of the Russian Federation". The draft law defines the main notions (including those which are absent in the current legislation) such as fish ranching, a fish farming site, etc. The draft also gives definitions to main principles of state policy in the sphere of aquaculture and main trends of state support. It introduces legislative standards stipulating rules for allocation and use of aquatic objects for aquaculture purposes and defining the property right on cultured aquatic animals and weeds (at present such legislative norms are absent in the current legislation).

The draft law regulates types of commodity fish farming as entrepreneurial activity on nursing and on-growing, farming inclusive, of aquatic animals and weeds in artificial environmental conditions aimed at harvesting and selling commodity products.

Towards material and technical development of aquaculture Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency has proposed the following measures:

• Entitle the Agency's subordinate organizations to produce fertilized roe and fry of rainbow trout, sturgeon, Coregonus peled and other fish species for further sale to on-growing companies;
• Look into the issue of supplying fishing vessels with dedicated equipment for production of fishmeal for aquaculture purposes, namely for production of cheaper fish feeds of higher quality;
• Use sources of thermal waters, both wild and artificial (result of power supply production) for fish farming purposes;
• Create conditions for development of fish ranching;
• Carry out state measures aimed at economic encouragement of commodity fish farming (soft bank loans on fish farms establishment and exploitation, subsidies for construction and refurbishment expenses, purchase of broodstock, feeds and stocking material, reduction or cancellation of import customs duties on broodstock and aquaculture equipment having no analogues in Russia);
• Increase federal budget funding of artificial stock reproduction and fishery melioration.

Towards innovation development of the nation's aquaculture sector the Federal Fisheries Agency has proposed the following measures:

• Create fishery innovation centres where it will be possible to concentrate intellectual and financial resources;
• Carry out research work aimed at optimization and reduction of costs of fish farming processes;
• Train specialists in the sphere of aquaculture with their practical study at foreign fish farms.