Factors that Determine the Territorial Specifics of Poaching and Control Over the Use of Aquatic Biological Resources

The presented work is an extensive study of poaching and counteraction to its implementation. This work focuses on the study of illegal fishing of anadromous salmon species in the territory of the Olginsky district of the Primorsky Krai, grayling and whitefish species in the territory of the Ust-Tsilemsky district of the Komi Republic, as well as issues related to the regulation of poaching. The main stages of data collection were two research expeditions: the Primorsky Krai in 2019 and the Komi Republic in 2020. The main methods of data collection were interviews, in-depth interviews, observation, and included observation. The informants were representatives of the local population, fishermen, representatives of local authorities, and fish inspectors of the territorial departments of Rosrybolovstvo. Also, while writing the work, the laws in the field of fisheries, the legal basis for its implementation, and the types of liability for violation of fishing rules were analyzed. Furthermore, a carried-out content analysis demonstrated the weak coverage of the problems of poaching of the fish resources and the presence of a negative public image of the Federal Agency for Fisheries. Finally, during the pre-graduate practice, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Federal Agency for Fisheries officials, during which expert assessments of problems in this area and various approaches to their solution were obtained. Thus, while writing the work, a comprehensive study of the phenomenon of poaching was carried out through the prism of the author's factors, which fully illuminate the territorial specifics of the poaching of aquatic biological resources by individuals on the territory of the Olginsky district of the Primorsky Territory and the Ust-Tsilemsky district of the Komi Republic. Thus, the following factors have formulated that form the "portraits" of poaching in the studied territories: 1. caught aquatic bioresources and their habitat conditions. 2. transport accessibility of fishing. 3. main groups of poachers. 4. the process of implementation and implementation of the catch. 5. characteristics of local communities. 6. organization of control and status of fish inspectors. While analyzing the obtained "portraits" of poaching and control over the use of aquatic biological resources, as well as comparing them with the laws in the field of fisheries and the results of interviews with officials of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, comprehensive conclusions were obtained about the problems that have formed in this area both in the country and in the studied territories. And also, the recommendations to improve the current situation were given. The main conclusions of this work indicate the importance of considering the territorial specifics of poaching in the process of building a system for controlling the use of aquatic biological resources. In turn, the territorial specifics themselves are not formed based on legislative norms, but on the contrary, it is a multi-component system consisting of various social norms, existing foundations and orders, selectivity in the application of the law, various agreements between regulatory authorities and poachers, self-organization of poachers, community cohesion and several other important indicators. The high level of poaching in the studied territories is due to the low efficiency of the fish protection system, the lack of decent legal opportunities for fishing, as well as the availability of access to the resource.