First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov chaired a meeting of the Governmental Commission to Develop the Fisheries Sector.

The Commission assessed the state of the national fishing fleet and discussed measures to overhaul it.

On opening the meeting, Mr Zubkov called on the business community to more actively finance construction of fishing vessels.

"The national fisheries sector is now run by private companies which have received a long-term right to catch biological resources. In this connection, one is prompted to ask why the federal budget should finance the construction of private company ships. The business community should be more active," Mr Zubkov said.

"The state has created incentives for the long-term development of the fishing business," Mr Zubkov stressed. "For instance, corporate fishing quotas have been formalised, payments for biological resources reduced and issues regarding budgetary subsidies for investment loan interest rates settled," he said.

The First Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that a strategy for developing the national fisheries sector had been approved in March 2009. Under the strategy, annual fishing volumes are to reach 6.6 million tonnes by 2020. "460 billion roubles, including 230 billion roubles from the federal budget, will be allocated for all aspects of the fisheries sector's activity," Mr Zubkov added.

Mr Zubkov said fishing companies must finance most fleet modernisation expenses out of their own and credit resources. "The state subsidises long-term investment loan rates. We have done this before, we are doing this today, and we will continue to do this in the future," Mr Zubkov said.

The First Deputy Prime Minister said that the relevant mechanism was also used to support agriculture and other economic sectors, and that it must be used more actively inside the fisheries sector. Notably, the federal budget has allocated about 130 billion roubles for subsidising interest rates this year.

Mr Zubkov also said he would hold a meeting next week, and that it would discuss the use of fishing vessels, built under state guarantees, and the issue of repaying their charterers' debts to the federal budget.

"At present, we have lost most vessels built in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Russian Government guarantees to foreign banks. The remaining vessels have no right to operate in Russian waters under national legislation because they are registered with foreign companies. The vessels have been standing idle for a long time, with their crews protesting this. I want to ask the concerned departments to prepare constructive proposals for solving this problem. It is not the fault of the crews that they are staying aboard these vessels," the First Deputy Prime Minister said.

"We must sort things out and make a well thought-out decision enabling the fishermen to work," he added.