On January 29, the amendment to the Fisheries Act approved by the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) on January 23 entered into force. In short, the essence of this two-article-Act is: all quota for professional fishing for the future will be given to those fishermen who have caught fish within the last three years. The act that has been in force to date stipulated that each year 10 per cent of the quota will be distributed through auction and the remaining 90% will be distributed according to the historical fishing rights among fishermen who have performed fishing before that period. In accordance with the amended Act, the form of auction will only be used for selling the quota which the state obtains (for example through concluding an agreement with another state) after the term when the annual distribution of the fishing quota has been performed. According to ms. Rita Annus, Head of Legal Department of the Ministry of the Environment, fishermen can be sure that the amended Act does not oblige to change the decisions that have been made earlier in accordance with the Act valid then. "Decisions concerning the share of the quota to be sold through auction have already been made, in a number of counties the auctions have also been held, too, and the majority of fishermen have obtained their fishing permits for this year. Since our Constitution assumes equal treatment of all persons, it cannot be assumed that in some counties where this year’s auction has not been held yet it might be cancelled - especially in the situation where the auction in the neighbouring county might have been held in mid-January already," said ms. Annus. From the next fishing season on the amended act will be enforced: "In the case where the permitted fishing rights of a water area do not enable to meet the applications for fishing permits to their full extent, the fishing rights will be divided among applicants who have through the legal procedure obtained fishing rights for this water area within the previous three years, with the exception of fishing rights for the Sprat and the Baltic herring which will be divided among applicants who have performed fishing for those species within the previous three years. At the division of fishing rights, the proportion of each applicant’s fishing rights obtained through the legal procedure within the previous three years as compared with the other applicants’ fishing rights obtained through the legal procedure within the previous three years should be maintained." For additional information please contact: |
