The Russian Accounts Chamber is raising alarm with the government’s delay in signing the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean. According to Bato-Zhargal Zhambalnimbuyev, an auditor from the Russian Accounts Chamber, in the event the convention is not signed, Russia may lose access to the North Pacific region. The convention sets fishing rules for the U.S. and Russia.

Monetary estimates as to the value of available catch are at RUR6.4 billion. Under the convention, Russia can run eight large ships and 40 medium-size vessels in the region.

Tatyana Golikova, a senior official at the Chamber, discussed the pressing matter with Mr. Zhambalnimbuyev during a meeting in December.

In the normal course of events, the Agricultural Ministry was to write an order, to be endorsed by the Russian Cabinet. However, the Agricultural Ministry was not able to produce the draft order before the due date of April 1, 2013, as set out in the convention.

The Russian Federation was the one to initiate the dialogue on formulating the convention and become an active participant in the negotiations leading up to its drafting. Yet, since Russia did not officially join the convention, the country may lose access to the North Pacific region. As a result, foreign fleets may start fishing in areas near the Russian border in the Far East.

In conducting its review as to the status of the convention, the Accounts Chamber notified the representatives of the Agricultural Ministry and the Federal Fishery Agency (Rosrybolovstvo). Notification was also sent to the two houses of the Russian parliament.

The Russian fishermen’s catch in the North Pacific within the borders of the Russian exclusive economic zone consists mainly of saury. There are other kinds of fish in the area of Russian access. Among those species are the Pacific pomfret, the California horse mackerel, the neon flying squid, and the opilio crab.