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Premier calls Russian law to get tougher on sea poachers

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MOSCOW, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - Mikhail Fradkov, Russia's Prime Minister, thinks criminal liability for poaching at sea must be toughened. Poachers' catch exceeds the authorized ceiling now by 50 per cent, now four- to five-fold. Statistics are even more alarming with sturgeon catch-an excess of twenty-fold and more, the Premier said in an opening address to today's federal governmental Maritime Board session.

He highlighted efficient government fishing control among pivotal national goals, and called to toughen criminal liability for poaching. The acting legislation may be amended for the purpose, if necessary, Fradkov added.

He also warned against government harassment of law-abiding fishers.

The Premier ordered involved federal services to take stock of opportunities to reduce fishing tariffs for companies that were barely keeping afloat. Requests on that score have been coming from many littoral areas. Soft tariffs are expected to boost fish catch by an annual 1.5 million tons, say certain experts, as quoted by Fradkov.

"This is only a tentative forecast, and I ask specialists to prove or overturn it, as the case may be," he said.

"Coastal fishing must make progress. The point concerns all kinds of seafood, even such that brings small profit."

Coastal fishing and seafood processing offer employment to a majority of Russian littoral areas' population. If the industry gets to a standstill, it will torpedo the local economy and send living standards plummeting, said the Premier.

He is pinning hopes on concessions and other patterns of government partnership with private enterprise to give an impetus to coastal fishing, he added.

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