The Russian fish processor should be competitive| The Russian fish processor should be competitive |
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In the back issue of our journal, much was spoken about fish industry. And this is not surprising because Murmansk is the fishing capital.Today, we continue to study the problems of fishery within our talk with Shakir Agokhanovich Guseynov, the president of the non-commercial union «Murmansk fish processing complex» the activity of which is directed at the protection offish producers of the Murmansk region. - Shakir Agakhanovich, please tell us what problems the fish processors are facing today.
-These days the question of support of the Federal Law "About revision of Federal Law 'About fishery and preservation of sea biological resources' " has been especially acute. The Murmansk Regional Duma raised this question at the end of May this year. Unfortunately, in spite of the force of the Law, the principle of catch quota sharing continues working. This principle extends not only on sea biological resources but also on catch of resources granted by the Russian Federation for fishing in exclusive economic zones of foreign states and in the regions of international fishery agreements. The Law says that a quota should belong not to a certain structure (fish catching or fish processing), but to a subject of the RF in general and that this subject should organize a competition among the companies that want to get a quota. In reality, ship owners who had fished in the previous three years got the 5-year right to a certain share from the total quota volume on catch of sea biological resources. And biological resources are granted to them in free use. Besides, the terms of the delivery of those resources to the RF for further processing or realisation are not provided in the Law at all. As a result the onshore fish-processing complex that was created as one of the units in the system of providing the population with domestic food has nothing to process. - Very often we hear that the situation in the neighbouring countries is much better and that our neighbours across the border solved all their problems long ago. Is it true?-Well, the one tells about a situation in Iceland, the other tells of the matter of things in Norway, the third mentions China or Canada... One should realize that the Russian citizens have a quite different mentality and, I would say, a quite different legislative base. The foreigners solve their problems partly at our expense, by the way. Hence the conditions offered are corresponding. It becomes more paying to present the raw material into these countries as there is a notion of grant there, there are powerful subsidies, there are normal work conditions. Hence not more than 8% of the total catch of our fish owners goes to the Murmansk fish processors. Significant figures - no explanation required. Besides, it is already economically proven that the fish-processor pays from one processed ton offish approximately 4,5 thousand roubles into the budgets of all levels. But in general, the fishing complex of the Murmansk region can pay taxes of the same level as those of the mining complex. It only needs an opportunity of doing that. - Shakir Agakhanovich, many branches of industry have the problem of specialists. Has the fish processing branch got enough workers, or does it still need highly skilled personnel?- The question of employment is the one that should be solved immediately. We need additional labour force. The matter is that both in the services sector and in the sphere of fish processing, people are offered the salary of the same volume, well, for instance, 10 thousand roubles. It's understandable that to work on the computer, for example, and to process fish are quite different things. And it's quite natural that a person chooses the first one. To provide the fish processing complex with highly qualified labour force, we need to offer the people an appropriate wage because many want to work here but they are waiting for a right attitude and for adequate work conditions. The problem of staff can be solved. There is some more difficult problem - it's the ques-tion of the relationship between fishers and fish processors. Everybody realizes that preference should be given to fish processing enterprises in the country... Norway, for example, offers our fishermen the work conditions that are much more paying than ours. The fishermen have nothing to do but to deliver raw material across the border because their aim is a personal profit first. For now Russian fish processors can't compete with the foreign ones. That is the problem. There is only one way out. A special law about fishing should be introduced, and there should be a new notion - «coastal quota». Besides, the fish-processing complex should be subsidized somehow. Only in this case raw material won't be exported. It will go exceptionally onto the home market. This can solve the problems of the branch in my opinion. The most important thing is to remember that fish is our traditional food in Russia, and particularly in Murmansk. This food will help with the revival of the nation at the genetic level. That's why our union supports fish processors and protects their interests. We are sure that a Russian can achieve any goal, just a bit help is required. Interviewed by Olga Shmatova
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