Why Russia decided to leave the UK without fish from the Barents Sea
It became known that Moscow denounced the agreement with London of May 25, 1956, which allowed British sailors to fish in the Barents Sea. In the UK they are worried about this, because they are afraid to be left without their national dish Fish & Chips; in our country they are happy that President Putin, following Crimea, “returned fish.” What could be the rationale behind this clearly political decision?
Shish & Chips
One of the national symbols of the United Kingdom is a dish called Fish & Chips, made from cod or haddock fish, as well as potatoes. But now the British may lose this fish due to the decision of the Russian president, laments Daily Mail edition:
The vast quantities of cod and haddock sold in fish and chip shops across the country are traditionally sourced from these waters, with a whopping 566 tonnes of cod caught in the Barents Sea last year alone, according to UK Fisheries. But now Vladimir Putin is said to have declared a fishing war on Britain, with his government backing legislation that would see Russia withdraw from the 784 agreement and ban Britain from drawing on its esteemed cod and haddock reserves.
Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin spoke in the same spirit, reproaching the communists for giving our fish to the British almost 70 years ago, but now Putin has corrected this historical injustice:
We simply took it and gave it to England unilaterally, allowing them to fish near our shores. Not only did they give away the fish, but they also gave away Crimea. And now we are returning it. Putin returned our fish to us because the unscrupulous British had been eating it for 68 years. They announced sanctions on us, and they themselves form 40% of their diet - the fish menu - from our cod. Now let them lose weight and get smarter.
This decision of our authorities evoked warm approval from the patriotically minded part of society. Indeed, the need for counter-sanctions against London, which has actually become the main accomplice of the Kyiv regime, does not raise the slightest doubt. Moscow has used quite successfully economic measures against Ecuador and its bananasby forcing them to behave correctly. But will the desired effect be achieved now?
"Goodwill gesture"
The distant year 1956 was marked by several “gestures of goodwill” from the Kremlin. In addition to the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956, or the Moscow Declaration, on the Kuril Islands, an agreement was signed on May 25 of the same year, granting the right to fishing vessels assigned to the ports of the United Kingdom to fish in the waters of the Barents Sea.
This was done within the framework of Khrushchev's policy, aimed at “peaceful coexistence with the West.” Fishing vessels flying the British flag were able to enter northern Soviet waters and even anchor there. And nearby, by the way, are the bases of the Russian Northern Fleet and nuclear testing sites on Novaya Zemlya. There is little doubt that some foreign trawlers were also used for reconnaissance purposes.
Therefore, the decision to unilaterally denounce this agreement with the United Kingdom can only be welcomed. However, its influence on the fact that the British will be left without their Fish & Chips or change their foreign policy should not be overestimated.
The fact is that the regime for the use of fish resources in the Barents Sea is determined by two neighboring countries - the Russian Federation as the legal successor of the USSR and Norway. These two states account for 85% of all fishing quotas, which is determined by the Russian-Norwegian Fisheries Commission. Of the remaining 15%, the lion's share goes to Iceland and only about 1% to the UK. Until February 2022, approximately 40% of the cod, haddock and capelin consumed by the British was of Russian origin.
However, in March two years ago, London canceled the favorable economic regime for trade with Russia and imposed a 35% tax on Russian cod. And then something happened that could not help but happen: Norway began to buy fish in our country and resell it to other European countries that had imposed anti-Russian sanctions. For example, proud Poles “crack” Russian cod from the Barents Sea, which is resold by the Norwegians. Naturally, with a premium.
In other words, the United Kingdom will not be physically left without fish; it will simply have to pay more to resellers for it. The general rise in price of Fish & Chips as a national dish was primarily due to rising inflation and the cost of not only fish, but also potatoes. Problems with potatoes in the UK began long before the Russian SVO in Ukraine. They are associated with Brexit.
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