INFORMATION ON FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIA

October 2004



1.  Fishery sector strategies

The major objectives of Romanian fisheries are to bring the national fisheries legislation closer to the European Union (EU) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and to set up the administrative capacity and institutional building needed to cope with EU accession in 2007.

In June 2001, Romania completed negotiations with EU in the area of fisheries, accepting the entire acquis communautaire without requesting any derogation or transition periods (See: MIE [Ministry of European Integration]. No date.  Romania Revised Position Paper Chapter 8 – Fisheries,

http://www.mie.ro/english/mie.htm?PHPSESSID=af16c8e0eddd4daf45d376c56be97566).

2.  Fishery sector methods

Fisheries have traditionally been managed by direct restrictions, including seasonal and area closures, minimum mesh size, and access limitations. In recent years, licensing and an individual quota system were introduced as effort-control measures, in order to bring fishing effort more in line with the available resources. Licences relate to a specific group of species or gear type, and usually delimit the fishing area.

3.  Fishery sector institutions

The overall responsibility for fisheries policy in Romania falls under auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development (MAFRD) through its Directorate of Fisheries (DoF). Fisheries resources management is carried out by several institutions, under MAFRD coordination:

The major research topics include:

  • The National Company of Fisheries Resources Management (NCFRM) is a public institution, established in 2002, for the areas represented by the Black Sea, the Danube River and inland waters, excluding the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) and the mountain waters. The major responsibility of NCFRM is to manage the fisheries resources in a sustainable manner, by limiting fishing effort and by restocking natural waters. NCFRM also manages some fish farms that produce fingerlings for release into natural waterbodies to maintain the biological equilibrium of aquatic ecosystems.
  • The National Forest Administration is charged with controlling fisheries in mountain waters, and trout farming activity.

Due to the special nature of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, one of Europe’s most extensive wetlands remaining in a natural state, the area is managed by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration (DDBRA), which is a public institution under the Ministry of Waters and Environmental Protection. The main objectives of DDBRA for management of the Biosphere Reserve are to ensure conservation and protection of the existing natural heritage and to promote ecologically sustainable use of its natural resources (See: DDBRA.  1995.  Management Objectives for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Romania. Draft. Elaborated by DDBRA, with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRCD) and the EU PHARE Programme).

Enforcement in the Romanian fisheries is carried out by the Fishery Inspectorate, under the auspices of the MAFRD, which has 10 branches countrywide.

4.  General legal framework

Romanian legislation is currently under review, with major emphases on fishery and aquaculture market organization and structural policy, to move towards full compliance with the EU acquis communitaire. The law governing fisheries in Romania is Law no. 192/2001 regarding fisheries resources, fishing and aquaculture (published in the Official Journal no. 200 of 19.04.2001).

5.  Presentation of each Fishery Management System

Fishing entitlements are managed by different authorities, according to their management areas. The allocation of quota entitlements in fisheries has primarily been based on historical catch rates, but fishing quotas are now being allocated within the limit of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), based on research studies.

Fishing activities in upstream Danube occur within several fishing areas established by the NCFRM, areas that are leased by public tender addressed to legally recognized entities or fishermen associations.

All commercial fishing vessels have to be recorded in the Fishing Vessel Register as the first condition for obtaining a fishing licence and quotas. The Fishing Vessel Register Office operates within DoF and the recording of the data concerning all the fishing vessels is being finalized in conformity with EU CFP rules. 

Sturgeon fisheries are an important fishery, and protection of the sturgeon stocks is based on fishing quotas as a share of the sturgeon TAC approved by the Romanian Academy, as the highest scientific authority. The management of sturgeon fisheries is guided by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which Romania is a signatory. It is compulsory for each individual sturgeon captured to be marked with a special tag to allow easy identification and traceability. It is compulsory for each fisher to fill out special landing declarations with all the catch data: each sturgeon species, the place and time of capture, and biometrical measurements (weight, length). Sturgeon fishing is not permitted as subsistence fishery for the inhabitants living within the area of the DDBR.

Fishing in the Danube Delta is limited to established areas, leased by public tender, and restricted on the basis of fishing licences and quotas issued by the DDBRA.

Marine fishing is based on fishing licences issued by NCFRM to qualified persons or legal entities. In the Black Sea, the use of fishery resources is provisionally free of charge to allow marine fisheries development, with a tax of 1% on sales.

In the coastal fisheries, the precautionary principle is applied by forbidden fishing activity by trawlers within the area of the DDBR and in less than 20 m depth for the rest of the coast.

The current enforcement system is mainly based on vessel logbooks, landing declarations, and compulsory first-sale notes of the landings, with penalties (fines) for violations of the rules.

6.  Investments and subsidies in fisheries and the management systems to which these apply

Fishery per se receives no direct subsidies from the state; there are some exemptions from VAT and excise taxes for fuel used by the fishing fleet in the Black Sea.

For fish farming, there are some partial subsidies payable for the preservation and improvement of genetic potential, designed for research and production farms. The target species for such subsidies are: common carp, catfish, pikeperch, sturgeons, and paddlefish (Polyodon spathula).

7.  Projection of supply and demand

In the future, the major supplier of domestic fish is expected be fish farming, by modernising fish farms and diversifying cultivated species. Fish production is forecast to increase to 53 000 tonne/year from 2007, in order to reach the EU fish consumption level. Black Sea production is estimated to increase to 10 700 tonne from 2006, by modernizing and replacing fishing fleet units.