The main goal is to ensure a wide range of fishing and maintain the fish management system
On October 28, 2022, the main decision-making organization of the MOHOSZ, the Válastmány, unanimously adopted the definition of the central fees and prices for 2023 for fishermen, as well as the guidelines of the fishing association for pricing by fishing organizations in their own right. In order to provide quick and reliable information, the MOHOSZ OHSZK describes the main decisions in this announcement, and at the same time indicates that it wishes to inform all media outlets in this form, requesting that the announcement be received accurately.
It is a regrettable fact that, in addition to wartime inflation, Hungarian fish farming was also very seriously affected by the century's drought. Successful fish production requires feed, energy for water supply, fuel for transport, and the entire, typically time-consuming, three-year production process also requires significant manual labor. This is why the sector itself does not have significant profit-making power, it has no substantial reserves, and at the same time, without fish production, there is no planting. As a direct consequence, the average autumn purchase price of carp, the most important fishing fish and also the main species to be planted, increased by more than 70% in one year.
The main cost element of fish farming for fishing purposes is fish stocking, but in addition, fish conservation, waterside maintenance works, and even personal fishing documentation are also involved in the significant and inevitable increase in the main costs already listed for fish production.
Ensuring EU resources at least proportionately, creating the chance to catch up with targeted state subsidies in the case of fish production and fishing is a key demand and request from the government, but due to known economic reasons, the time is not yet right for these negotiations.
Knowing all these facts, in accordance with the MOHOSZ's previously adopted strategy and the action plan aimed at effective crisis management, the Committee confirmed that the priority goal for 2023 is to maintain the current, widely available option of fishing, catching fish and taking fish, the continuation of the installations depending on the performance capacity, and at the same time maintaining professional, responsible fish management, especially fish conservation, at an unchanged level. After that, after all the internal savings opportunities had been explored and ordered, the level of the minimum necessary price increases was determined.
The Selection Committee considered that the angler is actually affected by the combined effect of all changes in fishing-related costs, and that the internal, task-based division of costs and rights is secondary to him. Thus, taking into account the inflation-tracking demand for resources of the assumed state tasks, as public tasks, the largest fee increase, comparable to the carp price increase described above, will occur in the state and central fishing organization (ESZH) fees, which must also be fixed by law. The reason for this is that normative and tender-based task financing and redistribution, which supports the work of fishing organizations, is also done from these sources.
In order to ensure supplies, and based on the solidarity of fishermen, the full fee discount (exemption) for children, the disabled, and those over 70 years old, which affects about 120,000 fishermen, is still maintained. The free fishing registration and the state fishing exam, as well as the price of the Hungarian Fishing Card, have not changed.
The price of the membership fee and the area ticket can also only be interpreted together in the case of water utilization associations, since it really does not matter to the angler in this case which element increases to what extent. Thus, in order to achieve the set goals, the Committee defined a mandatory framework for the waters belonging to the MOHOSZ benefit lease, and as a recommendation for the other water areas managed by fishing, the framework for increasing the given fees under the authority of fish farmers. This means a maximum of 30% for adults and 20% for children. The combined regional tickets of MOHOSZ, Danube and Tisza will also increase by a similar amount, on average 24%. With these tickets, it is also expected that a new, significant prize draw will be launched, where, among other things, the lucky ones can win back the price of the permits or get rich with valuable fishing equipment.
During the preparation of all the fee and price increases, several sample calculations were carried out, as part of this, the purchase value of the average angler's catch of fish in 2021 was priced, which is HUF 62,000. Based on the models, in the end, on average, less than half of the price change of carp that has already occurred so far, approx. 25-30% expected annual increase in fishing costs for active, full-fledged anglers, not including price changes of fishing articles and feed materials. The member associations and associations, as well as the users of Lake Balaton and Lake Tisza, decide within their own jurisdiction the final fees, prices and what type of area permits with which fish take-out option and personal discounts will be issued for the following year.
The 2023 National Fishing Regulations and guidelines for local fishing regulations were also adopted in the framework of the committee decisions, and the expected legislative changes in the field were also explained. Since all the planning conditions are now in place, the National Fishing Organization Service Center simultaneously asked the fishing organizations to publish the planned prices for next year and the related main local fishing regulations by December 1st, so that the fishermen have time to choose and decide on the regarding the place and manner of continuing fishing. MOHOSZ will publish the described decisions on its official website today.
MOHOSZ will inform the public about further decisions and opportunities, as well as tasks related to the change of the year, by mid-December. The Válastmány sincerely trusts that even in this difficult period, most of us will still be able to fish, and thanks to the sacrifices of the fishermen, we will also be able to preserve the functionality of the fishing organizations for the sake of our common future, fishing and Hungary's fish stocks!
MOHOSZ's Board and Board
Budapest, November 2, 2022.
