According to the soucre the TAVEL Certification initially seeks to open a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery. The certification body has invited public comments or information to the assessment process (relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices) and asked to contact Steve Devitt.
The location of the fishery target for the assessment is Russian EEZ waters of Sea of Okhotsk and the fishing method is said to be mid-water trawl. About the fshery management it is said that the fishery management system in Russia is described in the documents as being multi-levelled and heavily regulated. The principal fishery management body is the Federal Agency on Fishery. Its functions include implementation of fishery-related governmental policies such as the preparation of laws, financing of fleet construction, fishery research and educational institutions, and so on.
It is told that the research institutions operate under its auspices and carry out research on aquatic biological resource assessment, and evaluate measures on their rational use, including TAC options. As far as the stock assessments and TAC estimates are concern they are subject to annual updating, under control to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.
An Expert Council review the assessment which follow TAC proposals on each target species per separate fishing areas are annually approved by a governmental resolution and, after that, no one is empowered to alter the approved TACs. It has been said that the role of basin-level fishery councils is limited to handling production and economic aspects of the fisheries.
