The event was attended by Chief Researcher, member of the Directorate of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valentin Fedorov, leading researchers of the IE RAS Valery Zhuravel and Natalia Govorova. Valery Zhuravel, Head of the Center for Arctic Research of the IE RAS, delivered the main report "Topical issues of politics, economics, security and international cooperation in the Arctic: the Russian and international dimension. In her report, Natalia Govorova presented the results of her research on current problems and prospects of Arctic demography. Russian scientists and experts in the field of Arctic research, regional scientists, environmentalists, and international relations specialists spoke.

The participants of the discussion discussed the main directions of economic and social development of the Arctic, a number of aspects of maritime policy, issues of tourism, international cooperation and security, drew attention to the problematic issues of the development of the Arctic region. The presentation of the monograph "The Arctic policy of the USA and the interests of Russia: past, present, future" was held with interest, which was presented by its author, senior researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences Oleg Terebov.

The main speakers and presenters of the online event were located in Moscow at the House of Public Organizations on Pokrovka. Participants from the regions joined them in a remote format.

For the Arctic state, social partnership with a fisherman has a deep tradition and a strategic priority. Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Union of Fishing Collective Farms of Russia, expert of the Center for Strategic Assessments and Forecasts Pyotr Dzhunkovsky presented the report "Fishing activities, socio-economic situation of fishing enterprises on the eastern section of the Northern Sea Route".

The expert stressed that the main resource that determines the development of the Arctic is the people who live and work in difficult conditions in the coastal Arctic territories. About 2.4 million people live in the Arctic zone today and there are dozens of single-industry towns and settlements that are city and settlement-forming. Among them are fishing villages, the livelihoods of which completely depend on the work of fishing organizations, fishing artels, production cooperatives that produce fish in the Northern and Far Eastern basins.

Pyotr Dzhunkovsky drew attention to the fact that up to 90% of the catch of such enterprises is handed over to onshore processing facilities that ensure the economic development of coastal settlements and bear a significant social burden. The extraction and production of products for them is not only about making a profit, although this is not a little important. Their life and work are the amusement of the local population, the geopolitical presence and the development of territories. Most of them are fishing collective farms (artels), cooperatives, small-scale fisheries organizations.

"At their core, fisheries cooperatives, artels, are coastal fishermen, social workers, suppliers of high-quality protein products necessary for humans, thereby making a significant contribution to the country's food security. Therefore, it is important to realize that the effective use and long-term consolidation of the share of quotas for the extraction of biological resources and their distribution according to the historical principle is the traditional basis for the social well-being of people living in coastal territories," said Pyotr Dzhunkovsky.

Further, the report voiced the position of the oldest industry association in Russia - the Union of Fishing Collective Farms of Russia, which will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2020. Here are the theses of its concept.

The development and maintenance of the infrastructure of coastal settlements in Artik, social security of the population living in them should be one of the main strategic priorities of the policy of the Arctic state. The national security strategy of Russia, large-scale plans for the development of the Northern Sea Route, the Arctic Coast and the development of the infrastructure of the Far East require the consolidation of the population in these territories. In order to realize its capabilities and reduce the outflow of population from remote coastal territories, the state needs to stimulate their socio-economic development and support socially oriented fisheries management organizations that undertake the development of such settlements.  In this case, we are talking about fishing.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (paragraph 5.Article 7) provides for an obligation that was not in the previous Geneva Conventions - the obligation to take into account such a factor as the economic needs of coastal communities (paragraph 3 of Article 61). This convention obligation is subject to fulfillment by coastal States, including the Russian Federation. In this regard, Russian legislation requires updating and refinement.

Head of State Vladimir Putin has set a number of tasks for the Development Strategy of the Arctic zone of Russia until 2035. We are talking about creating a system of preferences that will help make economic activity in the Arctic effective: These include creating jobs, attracting investments, developing small and medium-sized businesses, improving the quality of life, and developing the Northern Sea Route as a transport corridor.

The quality of life in the Arctic territories is the primary task of the state and fishermen and their families should feel the care of the state. It is necessary to establish a social partnership between the state and the fisherman. The state should set the main task for the fisherman - to feed Russians with high-quality and affordable fish. And in return, to provide the fisherman with the necessary guarantees for raw materials, financial and legislative support – confidence and stability.

Source: https://www.fishnet.ru/news/novosti_otrasli/94778.html

Tags: Arctic , Anna Gornova