Investment quotas for fishing may be increased up to 20 years

Investment quotas for fishing in Russia are proposed to be increased from 15 to 20 years. As "Izvestia" found out, the corresponding bill has been prepared by Rosrybolovstvo.

"In the implementation of investment projects of the first and second stages for the construction of fishing vessels, the investor companies faced large-scale disruptions in the work of shipbuilding enterprises and a sharp change in the planned business conditions, which took capital investments beyond the payback standard of "no more than 10 years", - says the explanatory note to the bill, which is available at "Izvestia".

The document also reports that due to sanctions and restrictions on ship and other equipment supplies, the terms (up to 10 years) and cost (more than 20%) of construction of fishing and crabbing vessels at domestic shipyards have significantly increased.

"This has led to an increase in the payback period of investments and a decrease in the efficiency of the development of quotas of aquatic bioresources extraction. A sharp increase in the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has led to a multiple increase in the cost of servicing investment loans, which are the main source of investment attraction," the document says.

It also notes that, as a result, the payback period for the construction of fishing fleet vessels has grown to 17-20 years, which exceeds the normatively established payback period for investment facilities and the legally established 15-year period for fixing and granting investment quotas.

"A number of investors due to the lack of financial resources are unable to continue construction of vessels without restructuring their obligations to banks. At the same time, creditors assess the actual payback of investment objects and are not ready to restructure the debt due to the 15-year term of investment quotas provision," the document emphasizes.

In this regard, it is proposed to increase the term of fishing quotas to 20 years, and their effect should come into force from March 1 this year. The mechanism of investment quotas, named in fisheries "Quotas under the keel", was launched in 2018. To obtain the right to harvest aquatic biological resources, companies must invest in the construction of fishing vessels at Russian shipyards or fish processing facilities in coastal areas.

According to data for 2024, the "quota under the keel" mechanism has attracted 270 billion rubles into the Russian economy, of which more than 200 billion were allocated for the development of the Far East.

Last December, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that fish products before and after processing will be checked for larvae. In addition, the authorities plan to establish a ban on the sale of such goods with visible non-living parasites. Corresponding amendments will be made to the technical regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union "On the safety of fish and fish products".