Order No. 245 of the Ministry of Agriculture validating the Fisheries Regulation for the Northern basin.

This Order regulates fisheries undertaken by Russian legal persons and individual entrepreneurs. It applies to communities of sparsely distributed indigenous peoples in inland waters including internal seas, territorial seas, EEZ and on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation, and to foreign legal and natural persons carrying out fishery activities in accordance with Russian legislation and international agreements. The Northern basin includes the Barents Sea, the White Sea, the Onega lake and all fishing water bodies of the Komi Republic, Republic of Karelia, Arkangelsk, Murmansk, Volgograd and Kirov regions. The Order regulates industrial fisheries, including coastal fisheries and fisheries for scientific research, educational, stock enhancement and acclimatization purposes, as well as artisanal and sport fishing. The Fisheries Regulation establishes: (a) fish stock managers’ rights; (b) the list of documents authorizing fisheries; (c) prohibited fishing areas; (d) fishing gear and fishing methods; (e) minimum mesh size, dimensions and rigging of fishing gear; (f) allowable bycatch of fry; and (g) allowable bycatch of any species.