Solutions from Ukraine: Ukraine launches innovative digital platform for industrial fishing project

A trial program for electronic industrial fishing has been initiated in Ukraine.

The press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported this.

What is the problem?

Industrial fishing is a specific way of utilizing aquatic biological resources, involving activities such as extraction, receiving, storing, and processing. It also involves providing fuel, water, containers, and food for the fishing fleet and its crews as they operate in fishing bodies of water (or their sections).

By the current legislation of Ukraine, business entities must obtain a permit for the particular use of aquatic biological resources for industrial fishing.

Permits for industrial fishing are issued by the territorial bodies of the State Fisheries Agency of Ukraine to both legal entities and natural persons-entrepreneurs.

To get it, a person needs to collect and submit a whole series of documents, which the institution will check. It takes quite a lot of time, which means it can lead to corruption schemes.

What is the solution?

The Cabinet of Ministers [Ukraine's government – ed.] adopted resolution No. 1076, "On the implementation of an experimental project on the introduction of the declaration of the right to commercial fishing and experimental fishing in electronic form."

The department explained that the "Ye-Ryba" [ "fish" in Ukrainian – ed.] service will be launched in Ukraine, where business entities that catch fish on an industrial scale must submit electronic declarations.

How does it work?

From now on, fishing operators who plan to fish on an industrial scale or carry out experimental fishing must declare their right to do so every year by November 1 by submitting a corresponding electronic declaration.

The corresponding electronic document must be created, signed, and submitted automatically to the Unified State Electronic Management System of the Fisheries Industry "Ye-Ryba."

Through the declaration, commercial fishermen will have to automatically enter into the electronic system information about:

• enterprise;
• fishing vessels, their characteristics;
• fishing gear;
• fishing grounds.

The implementation of the experimental project will last for two years and will ensure:

• reduction of the administrative burden on fisheries subjects by simplifying the procedure for obtaining permit documents;
• introduction of the possibility of providing/receiving administrative and other services of the fishery industry in electronic form;
• minimization of corruption risks.

The start of the "Ye-Ryba" system will be announced on the information resources of the State Fisheries Agency.

For reference:

It should be noted that an experimental project on mariculture development was launched in Ukraine for two years.

In addition, due to the Russian troops blowing up the Kakhovka Dam and the disappearance of the Kakhovka Reservoir, all the fish died – that is 11.4 thousand tons.

Also, in the Zhytomyr region, a mass fish death was recorded in the Narodytska community. Damages were estimated at more than 10 million hryvnias.