MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. This story is not just about how a friendship between students grew into love, how they started a business, how they have lived over restrictions and found compromises. This family’s story is a drop in the sea of the regional problems related to restrictions for small vessels.
Anastasiya Perfilova (Nastya for short) and her husband Leonid are absolute optimists. She is 35, he is 38. They both were born in Murmansk and graduated from the Murmansk State Technical University. He graduated as a navigator; she finished a course in Economics. However, their business is different from those professions.
"I entered the university only because this was what my parents wanted me to do, while my interest was in the law or tourism," Nastya said with a smile. "Dad insisted I took the economy course. Leonid also did as his dad had told him - to become a captain. But how can you resist the fate?"
"This was not what I wanted," Leonid joined the conversation. "On big vessels, I went to three voyages and it became clear I wanted something different. Later on, I took a course at the State Service Academy to realize later on it was not my interest either."
Nastya and Leonid decided to open a family business to offer boat trips to tourists, anticipating new emotions and "sea monsters."
Anyway, the family should be grateful to Nastya’s father for what they do, for the profession, for the chances to make the business idea work. He, a well-known businessman in Murmansk, a fisher, Evgeny Kazakov, is a brave and creative person. By the way, he is the author of the Best Song about Murmansk, where in three verses you can hear his soul, the city, the sea and the port.
It was 15 years ago that Kazakov bought a small vessel, or rather its body, then ordered an engine for it, and made all the "inside" by himself. He named the boat Cartel, and later on gave it to the children as a present. According to them, the Cartel for them is a pride, and a source of income.
Recently, the family has faced problems, which are typical for many fishers: small vessels are banned from the sea. For many people this means they can’t provide for families.
Sailing impossible staying ashore
Nowadays, every fisher in the Murmansk Region has to decide where to put comma in this phrase. For many years, legislators have argued about fishing offshore, about the outdated vessels, and that all small vessels are not allowed to the sea due to the pandemic. It happens now, exactly when every fisher must be in the sea - it is a season to fish cod.
Fishers from across Russia used to come to Murmansk in April and May. They brought boats, and made a fish stock to last for a year. This year, however, the ten-mile coastal zone is idle. Businesses have stopped, and the locals risk remaining without fish.
"Don’t blame the pandemic here. The pandemic is a global problem, which will pass anyway. Our trouble is different. In the past, such small boats, up to 20 meters long, which pass a state registration, were allowed to be in businesses. Then this law was cancelled. In order to continue working, we should be on the Marine Registrar. This is out of question for our small boat - it is too small, and the crew should have different documents and licenses. To make a long story short, the new standards and regulations require such investments, that it would be easier for us to lock the boat for good."
Anastasiya speaks straightforwardly, the phrases are sharp. Clearly, she’s a strong lady. Never give in - this is how their family lives. Pandemic? No tourists, no sailing? They get united to defend own interests.
"We’ve discussed with experienced fishers, businesses, legislators - the last chance to provide for the families has faded away. What should we do? We’ve sent a big letter from people, living in Teriberka, Ura-Guba, Murmansk and the region - with names, signatures, contact details - asking to be allowed to sail, to work, to earn. We also addressed the governor on his email, sent dozens of texts. "Individual fishing. Help and save!" Chibis (the Murmansk Region’s governor), when the unrest burst out on the Internet, contacted fishers directly, spoke to the locals. The result - certain measures have been eased. We appreciate it."
What about fishing? Why on hold?
Individual fishers were allowed, but sailing small vessels is still outlawed. Leaving berths is now allowed for residents of coastal villages only. They have to present IDs to get permissions. They are allowed to take onboard twice fewer people than previously, and they must meet all the necessary sanitary requirements.
"Our boat can take 12 people, thus now I can take only six. But my boat is almost 20 meters from bow to stern. The beam is 3.5 meters. And, since the crew (two people) are in the cockpit, and the fishers are on either sides, I then observe the [social] distances. But how can you observe the distances on a 3-meter rubber boat, carrying three people? Who complies more: I on a big boat, or they on a small rubber boat?" Nastya asked indignantly.
She has found the way out - instead of tourists she now takes into the sea the local fishers. They use spinning rods, throw fishing lines with many hooks, the lines’ lengths depend on the fishing location and depths. On lucky days, a fisher is allowed to catch maximum 100 kilos.
"We sail not that often, only when the weather allows. And results also differ. One day, you may catch more than 700 kilos, and on another day - just three tiny tails," Leonid said.
Presently, the Cartel is berthed at Three Brooks near Murmansk. This service means additional expenses.
"The cost is about 2.5 rubles ($0.04) per a meter a day plus the electricity bill - about 45,000 (rubles) ($655) a month. We are not charged when we are at sea, only when we are there. Everything is safe, we have an official agreement, it’s all legal," Anastasiya said.
Not big, though strong
The Cartel’s crew is two people. Captain Ilya Boitsov is 33. A former Airborne returned to Murmansk, learned to be a gas and electric welder, then to be a sailor, and then to be a captain.
He has been on the Cartel for the third year. There are quite many self-educated people in Murmansk, Anastasiya said, but finding among them the smart and responsible is a big deal. Besides, with many visitors onboard, the crew member must be a good technician and a polite person. Ilya says: "I am a very kind captain, though, when needed, I may roar. The sea is not a joke, and inaccuracy is out of question. The sea forms up the character, makes stronger the person, the soul; I really don’t know how to put it into words. Responsibility and courage, yes. I’ve been in different situations. Have been caught in storms on such small "vessels," and was always lucky to return safely."
Quite many times they rescued other fishers. Once, they rescued life-savers. Back then, Ilya worked in Linhammar (the Murmansk Region) on board the Russian Salmon vessel.
"Two fishers on a rubber boat were approaching the coast, the wave throws them, the boat is torn, they were lucky the signal there was good, so they call for rescuers. The rescuers are approaching the coast on a small boat, and here the wave throws it onto the shore," Ilya said. "In the end, everyone was fine, we picked them all."
We saw sailor Anton Zinovyev in the hold. He’s the crew’s "mind and hand," Anastasiya said. His responsibilities are berthing, services, work with tourists. He may substitute the captain when needed. They have been friends since childhood. Anton speaks with restraint.
"I’ve used to be what not - worked on the railroad, then as a loader, a seller, a bartender, what not," he said, stressing that at sea it is most important "not to believe good or bad signs, but to be doing what you should do.
From the State Service Academy to cuisine
The boat’s owner, Leonid Perfilov, is a bright and extraordinary figure. The family, friends and crew are fond of him not for just professional skills, but rather for his humor, and, as they put it, for unbelievable cooking talents.
"After two higher education courses - in the sailing and in the state service - I realized I belong to the "heat." I have a feeling for dishes, without recipes I know how much of what to put to have the taste exposed," Leonid said.
He posts on the Instagram own recipes, which Nastya records. In Moscow, he took cooking courses and now plans to have master classes. In future, he may open a restaurant.
Future will come
In the North, storms are not rare - both in business and at sea, Nastya said. The nature and the people have strong characters. It was tough for her to get fit into the men’s environment of fishers, nor easier was it in the tourism business. Nowadays, both the business community and officials often consult with her before making decisions.
"On behalf of the Murmansk regional government I participated in a roundtable, which was onboard the Lenin icebreaker," Nastya said. "There were high-ranking officials in different sectors, related to tourism, from other regions. During my presentation, I said we should develop our city, our region, that we are ready to invest not only money, but thoughts and ideas. But we are not ready to invest in nowhere! We want a response and support from the state. The forum participants later on asked us to take them fishing, to show the Kola Bay, Murmansk from the Barents Sea. But, until the ban for small vessels to sail in the Kola Bay remains, this is out of question of course."
Nobody can forecast how soon tourism in the North may recover after the pandemic. As yet, what we may have are only recollections and dreams.
"I love Murmansk, in every aspect; I love its special view from water, during the polar night! I miss views of the city in lights, when cranes in the port are in lights, and how beautifully is lit our Alyosha (this is how the locals call a monument to those who fought for the Polar Region in WWII), lights in the houses climbing up the hills - a marvelous view! When allowed, we used to go to the sea to enjoy the city. There are many things to show to tourists! Thus, we hope, they, up there, will hear us. As for our ideas - they are countless! We all have strong nerves and the characters, which even the wind may turn into the right direction."
Anastasiya and her neighbors insist the law on individual fishing, which came into force on January 1, 2020, should allow fishing not for "personal needs" only, but also for further sale. Rosrybolovstvo (fishery authority) has been eying an amendment.