Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Krainy, we met in early March, and I asked you about commercial sport fishing. You assured me that there would be no problems, that you would explain things to people, and that there would be no serious restrictions. Now we see that people are seriously concerned either as a result of inadequate explanations or the legal decisions that were made at the end of last year. Their concern is understandable: people are simply worried that these decisions will soon transform traditional fishing holes into commercially designated areas where they will have to pay. Yesterday they went to these places for free, and tomorrow they will have to pay for it. I know that these fishing vouchers cost anywhere between 500 and 1,000 roubles near Moscow. Why do they need your vouchers? For 200 or 300 roubles, they can take their 'vitamins' for the day and have a great time. And now you want to make them pay for everything. By the way, I fully share their concern. Why did you do this at all? Why did you initiate this amendment to the law on fishing?

Andrei Krainy: Mr Putin, to begin with, this amendment was initiated by deputies of the State Duma. We had voiced our concern during the discussion of the amendment prior to its adoption. Apparently, we were not active enough and the amendment was passed, causing a huge wave of public concern. Nevertheless, I’d like to inform you that we clearly explained the situation in order to reassure the people; recently, I’ve been speaking quite often – at the Moscow rally as well as on radio and television. Traditional public fishing areas cannot and should not become commercial.

Vladimir Putin: You won’t be able to regulate it. The law makes it possible to put any area on a commercial footing. That is the problem. Have you imposed a moratorium on bidding?

Andrei Krainy: I signed the relevant directive yesterday. We have imposed this moratorium indefinitely. Indeed, the live discussion that is now taking place on blogs and the internet, as well as in our commission (we have set up a commission on amateur sport fishing to include organisers of rallies and representatives of the public) shows that one article is inadequate to regulate such a big sub-industry as amateur sport fishing, even if we get rid of the latest amendment.

Vladimir Putin: Do you know what needs to be done? You must keep this moratorium until you, Duma deputies, and the public can elaborate a new provision to the new law on fishing. It goes without saying that one of the most important qualifications to the transfer of sport fishing areas to a commercial basis should be the percentage of water area in the region that could become commercial. Obviously, some people will be happy to use this service and pay for equipped areas. However, as a percentage of overall water area, such areas should be as few as possible.

Andrei Krainy: I fully agree with you.

Vladimir Putin: And, please, work on this with deputies. I’d like to emphasise once again that you should involve the public in this work, so that the adoption of a final decision on the issue will be transparent and considerate. It should improve the situation rather than make it worse. As I’ve said, those of you who want to use these services should be able to do so, and those who don’t should be able to go to the suburbs and relax without any hindrance. What are people most worried about? That it is primarily around big cities that…     

Andrei Krainy: I fully agree with you.

Vladimir Putin: …in place of traditional sport fishing areas, commercial companies will emerge. But perhaps some people will not wish to use their services and will not do so. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to study this issue with deputies as expediently as possible and adopt a new law.

Andrei Krainy: Mr Putin, we have already started working on it. The commission I mentioned – I mean the one that was set up with public participation – is working. We’ll meet on Friday and look once again at what has been done. We’ll hold a round table discussion on the provisions of a new law in the State Duma on April 15. We’ll make this discussion totally transparent and public and will involve all interested parties.  

Vladimir Putin: Good.