Putin Calls Issues Over Registration of Fish Caught Outside Russia's Waters Not Normal

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the situation involving Russian regulators that require the country's fishing companies to register fish caught outside Russia's territorial waters as foreign products was not normal.

"This situation is absolutely not normal. It should be fixed," Putin said during his meeting with public representatives during the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.

Putin made his comment in response to a question by Alexander Efremov, the head of the Dobroflot association, who told the president about difficulties his company faced concerning fishing outsides Russia's exclusive economic area. Efremov said his company had to register fish caught together with Japanese fishermen as foreign products as Russian regulators considered such actions as fish smuggling.

Putin pledged to instruct customs authorities and Agricultural Minister to settle this issue.

Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok is hosting the fifth edition of the EEF from September 4-6. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the event.