October 17, 2003

Russia Rejected South Korea's Offer of US$5m In Return of Pollack Supply

So far, South Korea has made little progress in securing private pollack quotas in Russia's territorial waters, according to government officials and industry sources.

Earlier this month, at a fisheries meeting with Russian officials, Korean fishing industry officials offered to invest US$5 million annually in Russia's fish processing industry in return for a 50,000-ton quota over the next 10 years.

However, the Russia rejected the offer due to dwindling stocks of Pollack. However they proposed negotiations for quotas on other fish like saury and anchovy.

A total of 62 Korean and Russian officials and representatives from the business community and fishing industry attended the meeting.

"We made an exceptional offer but Russia showed little interest in it. The fishing industry expects the Korean government to act more aggressively," said an official with the Korea Deep Sea Fisheries Association.

South Korea's quota for Russian pollack was set at 22,000 tons this year at government-level talks, down 3,000 tons from 2002. No quota was reserved for private fishing boats.

South Korean pollack fishing firms enters a partnership with Russian companies for approval to operate in Russian waters but Moscow has decided to scrap the conventional quota bidding for private firms from next year.

Instead, it will adopt a new system in which quotas are distributed in consideration of produce history in Russian waters. The new system is claimed to be more favorable to Russian fishing firms.