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Norwegian Minister of Fisheries against Russian law on fish deliveries

The Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Helga Pedersen is not pleased with the new Russian law on fisheries demanding that all fish caught in Russian economic zone shall be delivered in Russian ports.

-I would rather see that such trade hindering measures were not made, Pedersen said in an interview with BarentsObserver in Kirkenes today.

The law came into effect on January 1 2009.

To what extent this new law will affect Norwegian coastal settlements that have become dependent on Russian deliveries, is not yet known. Pedersen says the ministry will analyze the situation continuously and apply to its Russian counterpart when the consequences are clearer.

- For the time being there is no reason for panic, but we will be monitoring

the situation closely, especially in Finnmark. Pedersen told the journalists that she is very pleased with the cooperation between Norway and Russia on fisheries. The communication is good, and the parts always manage to come to an agreement on the big, important issues.

Pedersen's next meeting with Head of the Russian Fisheries Committee Andrey Krayny will take place in Moscow in September. The main question in the discussions will be the fight against overfishing in the Barents Sea.