The challenges of fishing industry in the Kaliningrad Region and the methods of sustainable resource management used to enhance efficiency in this field

The general economic overlook of the Kaliningrad Region and the significance of fishing industry for its territory and population will be considered in the first part of this article. The problems of fisheries sector influencing the Kaliningrad Region and methods of sustainable resource management aimed at eliminating negative impact of some problems are demonstrated in the second part of the article.

Key words: Kaliningrad, fishing industry, sustainable resource management

Located right on the coast of the Baltic Sea and between Poland and Lithuania, both of which are independent states in the European Union, the Kaliningrad Region is a shining example of a pene-exclave. Separated from the mainland one of the most extraordinary federal subjects of the Russian Federation, on the one hand, has great prospects for tourist and recreational complex, fishing industry, amber extraction development due to the geographical position and, on the other hand, continues to encounter ample amount of boundaries related to planning and managing resources.

The closeness to Europe frequently turns to be the decisive factor for migration to the Kaliningrad Region. Since 2012 the population of Russia’s westernmost region has been steadily increasing and at present that accounts for almost 970,000 people. The government of Kaliningrad constantly makes attempts to attract more people to live and work here. Not only do citizens of the CIS, where economics leaves much to be desired, prefer moving to the region for the sake of temporary earnings but also people from nearby Poland have recently discovered the possibilities which region’s labor market is able to provide. The fact is official unemployment rate in the Kaliningrad Region is approximately 20 times less than in border territories of Poland (for comparison the unemployment rate in the Kaliningrad Region fluctuates around 1 per cent, whereas in Polish border areas this number might constitute even 25 per cent). [1]

So the region is evolving in terms of population growth and economic condition, while the resources situated here are extremely limited. But that is merely a small drop in an enormous sea. Apart from the above-mentioned obstacle, the most essential and dangerous problems for agenda in Kaliningrad are absence of knowledge and experience in resource management and downward trend in ecology and environment. We should admit to ourselves that we hardly cope with handling either our exhaustible or inexhaustible resources.

Moving onto the importance of fishing in the Kaliningrad Region some facts and figures should be mentioned. Owing to lots of reasons such as proximity to fishing area in the Atlantic Ocean and availability of ice-free port fishing has always been the key industry for the Kaliningrad Region. Despite declining dynamics of fish catch (according to the Territorial agency of the Federal State Statistics Service in the Kaliningrad Region 353,052,04 tons of fish were caught in 2002, whilst in 2013 this number amounts to solely 215,299,6 tons) 10 per cent of all produced fish in Russia came from the region in 2012. Moreover, in 2013 the Kaliningrad Region exported 3,012,7 thousand tons of fish and seafood and 14,983,3 thousand tons of preserved fish to the tune of 10,098,0 and 26,961,4 thousand US dollars relatively. It is certainly worth mentioning that nearly 5,000 people (1 per cent of all able-bodied citizens in the region) are employed at factories and plants and engaged in fishing production. All these facts and figures assure the importance of fishing industry for the westernmost region of Russia. [2, 3]

Fish resources management reveals the following problems:

1)   Because of gradually expanding level of poaching the amount of the most valuable fish species in the Baltic Sea is decreasing. For example, year after year environmentalists sound the alarm especially on the reduction of Baltic salmon’s population. In addition, the lax control over the data on fish catch contributes into hiding the real figures for fish caught in the sea.

2)   Local fish factories and plants are highly dependent on foreign providers. Before sanctions prohibiting the import of agricultural and fish products from certain countries to Russia, and the Kaliningrad Region particularly, the majority of salmon’s supply came from Norway and Poland. Then Kaliningrad’s market could not get reoriented onto the supply from other regions of Russia so fast and the overseas state of the Faroe Islands this time occupied the local fish market.

3)   Lack of well-qualified workers in fishing production is definitely observed in the region. Despite the old traditions in fishing and seafaring inherent in Kaliningrad less and less people choose fishing industry as long-term employees.

4)   Low industrial cooperation between enterprises catching fish and factories responsible for processing and preserving that is also one of the features of Kaliningrad’s fishing. Unfortunately, there is almost no support from the government to entrepreneurs dealing with different production stages of fish in the region. All the businessmen strive to maximize profits at the expense of selling products to those who are ready to offer the best price. Mainly fish caught in the waters of Kaliningrad’s part of the Baltic Sea is exported to other subjects of the Russian Federation (78,1 %) and the rest share goes to foreign countries (21,9 %). In this regard the quantity of exported fish is always going up (Table 2). That confirms the fact that Kaliningrad’s fishing companies prefer marketing fish in other areas, outside the Kaliningrad Region itself, where the trade is more beneficial.

5)   Substantial level of fishing fleet depreciation has become a threat for fishing industry since the collapse of the USSR. The current outdated fleet is characterized by a low level of profitability. It is reported that fishing fleet in the Kaliningrad Region is basically replenished due to the acquisition of the old foreign vessels.

6)   One more obstacle such as the low innovation activities of fishing enterprises is connected with the state politics in the sphere of economics’ modernization. Insufficient sum of money allocated into improvement of fishing industry represents as an endless unsolvable problem.

7)   Last but not least ecological problems able to affect both quality and quantity of fish catch make the environmental situation unstable as a result of soaring number of vessels at the Baltic Sea and oil spills occurring repeatedly. [3]

Table 1

Dynamics of fresh fish exported from the Kaliningrad Region [2]

Although the economic potential of fisheries sector in the region is within at least a normal range, the biggest problem for this industry caused by bad environment makes itself felt. Wastewater discharges into surface water bodies rose by 12 per cent from 109,8 million cubic meters in 2010 to 124,9 million cubic meters in 2013. The amount of total fixed capital investment in protection and use of natural resources plummeted significantly to 324,8 million rubles in 2013. In the same year total fixed capital investment into environmental protection and specifically rational use of water resources accounted for barely one fifth of investment of the previous 2012 year (Table 2). If the nature of the region continues to be contaminated and the environment does not stop suffering from cutbacks and underfunding, the Kaliningrad’s fishing industry will presumably face immense economic and social problems quite soon. [4]

Table 2

Fixed capital investment into environmental protection and rational use of water resources (mln. rub.) [4]

In this way methods of sustainable resource management have to be applied with the aim to protect fishing industry in the Kaliningrad Region. Handling fish resources should be carried out in two directions:

1)     managing quantity of fish resources;

2)     managing quality of fish resources. [5]

Reproduction of aquatic biological resources is necessary for the Kaliningrad Region. There are plenty of various programs and projects devised to enlarge population of concrete fish species by means of so-called artificial breeding. For instance, annually 150,000 juvenile whitefish raised in a factory are released in the Curonian Lagoon. Within the framework of a goal-oriented program called “The development of aquaculture in the Kaliningrad Region in 2013–2015 years” the following investment projects are being implemented nowadays:

-        construction of the factory designed for industrial farming of salmon trout on the territory of Pionersky port (declared total capacity is 12–15 thousand tons of fish products per year; total volume of private investment amounts to 2,780 million rubles);

-        construction of a plant destined for rearing trout for sale in the settlement of Dolgorukovo in Bagrationovsky Distict (declared total capacity is 1,5 thousand tons of fish products per year; total volume of private investment constitutes 490 million rubles);

-        expansion of current production facilities designed to breed sterlet, pike perch, trout, catfish in complete cycle fish rearing systems at “Baltptitseprom Ltd” located in a settlement named in honor of A. Kosmodemyanskiy (declared total capacity is 2,25 thousand tons of fish products per year; total volume of private investment accounts for 500 million rubles). [2]

Talking about quality of fish resources we need to pay attention at the government regulations in the sphere of fishing and ecology. The elaboration of efficient control system for environment in the region is highly recommended. Fishing industry itself should be put under a strict control of the state. The creation of integrated associations operating on the principle “catch-production- distribution” may abolish the low level of cooperation between different enterprises involved in fishing industry. [3]

Furthermore, all kinds of poaching without any exception must be seriously prosecuted in the region. One of the best options will be to acclaim aquatic biological resources as the national heritage and multiply fines for illegal activities concerning water and fish resources.

The Kaliningrad Region tends to be a well-developed subject of Russia regardless some crucial issues. Nevertheless, the future can be in danger if the government does not alter contemporary politics with respect to fishing and determined barriers for its progress. New approaches to sustainable resource management in Kaliningrad including planning, controlling and handling fish resources will be undoubtedly helpful for strengthening economics, food security and independence of the region.

As a conclusion, amongst the most significant problems prone to affect quantity and quality of fish resources in the westernmost region of Russia the poaching, the poor environment, the lack of connections between enterprises in fish industry and urgent need for human resources should be listed one more time. It’s necessary to resort to such up-to-date field of study as sustainable resource management. Its ideas of maintaining the acceptable number of aquatic biological resources in the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon alongside with construction of specialized factories for artificial breeding and improvement of legislation in the field of fishery are great prerequisites for further region’s economic growth.

References:

1.      Official site of “The Russian Newspaper”. URL: http://www.rg.ru/2014/12/09/reg-szfo/zarabotki.html

2.      Analytical note on the state of the fishery complex in the Kaliningrad Region. — Kaliningrad: Territorial agency of the Federal State Statistics Service in the Kaliningrad Region, 2014.

3.      A. Mnatsakanian, O. Korneva. Priority areas of development of fishery complex of the Kaliningrad Region / A. Mnatsakanian, O. Korneva // News of Kaliningrad State Technical University. — 2014. — № 33. — p. 218–225.

4.      Key indicators of environmental protection in the Kaliningrad Region. Statistical compilation. — Kaliningrad: Territorial agency of the Federal State Statistics Service in The Kaliningrad Region, 2014.

5.      A. M. Kolosovskiy. Quality management in water sector / A. Kolosovskiy. // Innovations in science, education and business — 2014. XII International Scientific Conference. — 2014. — № 1. — p. 71–73.