Today, a significant part of the catch of Ukrainian aquatic biological resources and the products made from them are belong to the shadow economy. BRDO together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the State Fisheries Agency are actively working on the introduction of a transparent mechanism in Ukraine that will ensure their traceability and prevent illegal and unregulated fishing. This is necessary for the development of fisheries and aquaculture in our country.
The Parliament has taken an important step in this direction: the European integration draft law No. 9545 and its interrelated No. 9546 have been registered, in the development of which the BRDO team participated.
What innovations do the bills foresee?
- determination of the main legal, economic and organisational principles for ensuring the traceability of fishery and aquaculture products;
- introduction of certificates into national legislation: Certificate of Origin, Catch Certificate, Re-export Certificate;
- introduction of certificates on the processing of traceable aquatic biological resources and/or products from them, which are mandatory for customs clearance of traceable aquatic biological resources and/or products from them during export-import operations and re-export;
- addition of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses with an article on establishing responsibility in the field of traceability of aquatic biological resources and/or products from them (bill No. 9546).
Why is this important?
Ukraine has a significant potential for the development of not only fisheries, but also aquaculture, which is currently underestimated and not fully realised.
Bills No. 9545 and No. 9546 will change this situation:
- will ensure traceability of operations with aquaculture facilities;
- regulate the procedure for formation, labeling and sale of relevant batches of aquaculture products.
This will give impetus to the further development of aquaculture in Ukraine, the creation of products with added value and the attraction of new players to the market, and, accordingly, the growth of the economy.
It is proposed to introduce an electronic system of traceability of the origin of fishery and aquaculture products. It will allow to receive information about the history, source of origin and suitability for consumption of aquatic biological resources and products from them.
This innovation will provide:
- the growth of Ukraine’s economy by attracting new players to the fishing industry and aquaculture;
- equal access to a common limited resource for entrepreneurs;
- simplification of business conditions in the fishing industry and the field of aquaculture;
- minimisation of corruption risks;
- harmonisation of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation.