Implementing international fisheries agreements in Russia—lessons from the northern basin

The article discusses the implementation of Russiaʹs international fisheries agreements in the countryʹs northern fishery basin, focusing in particular on the implementation activities undertaken by public authorities and target groups. In the post-Soviet period, three features stand out: the diffusion of management responsibility, the degeneration of implementation performance and the reduction in target compliance. The established fisheries management system has been challenged from different angles. A decline in implementation performance and target compliance has followed partly from the fact that the ‘newcomers’ are less fit for their tasks than the traditional agencies, and partly from confusion following unclear division of responsibility between ‘new’ and ‘old’ management bodies.