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Russia-Greenland fishing quota exchange talks satisfactory

Greenland offered to negotiate on the basis of the price criterion, as halibut and sea bass are more expensive than cod and haddock

COPENHAGEN, December 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The exchange of fishing quotas between fishermen in Greenland's and Russia’s 200-mile economic zones was in the focus for the 20th round of bilateral consultations on fishing, which ended in Friday.

"The negotiations were rather difficult, due to a decline in the stocks of halibut and sea bass which we get from the Greenlanders," the head of the Russian delegation, representative of the Federal Agency for Fisheries in Denmark, Vladimir Belyaev, told Itar-Tass.

"Greenland offered to negotiate on the basis of the price criterion, as halibut and sea bass are more expensive than cod and haddock,” he explained. “In this case, however, Russia would lose a great deal. The Russian delegation exerted great efforts to have the methodology unchanged."

"According to the signed protocol, Russia’s sea bass quota decreased slightly, but remained virtually unchanged for halibut,” said the official. “In general, the decisions that have been made are compromises, and I would say the results of negotiations are satisfactory."

"We also agreed on the areas and periods of fishing and settled issues of fishing rules in the 200-mile economic zone of Russia and the 200-mile economic zone of Greenland," concluded Belyaev.

Last Tuesday in Torshavn, the Faroe Islands, a protocol was signed on the basis of the 35th session of the Russian-Faroese Fisheries Commission, which also includes exchanges in fishing quotas.

Russia concludes fishing protocols directly with the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Danish Kingdom, as Copenhagen delegated to these autonomous territories the right to manage their natural resources.