MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning foreign vessels engaged in illegal fishing from entering Russian seaports.

The document was posted on the official web portal of legal information. The law was approved in pursuance of the agreement on measures combating illegal fishing, ratified by Russia in 2020. It stipulates a minimal package of standard measures a country should take when foreign vessels call its ports or stay in them.

The law complements the Russian Merchant Shipping Code with a provision, whereby a harbormaster can ban a foreign ship’s call to port if such vessel is on a list of ships whose operations are associated with fishing in violation of established rules and requirements. The exception would be if a vessel is in distress or if there is an emergency on board. The bill also suggests establishing that the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries will inspect foreign vessels.

The law also prohibits Russian ports from providing services to companies and businessmen, whose ships are involved in fisheries in breach of the rule and are blacklisted accordingly.

New measures are called to strengthen regional and international cooperation in combating illegal fisheries and prevent the supply of illegally caught aquatic bioresources to international and domestic markets.