News

In 2018 Russian export of wild salmons was soaring and by the end of the year exceeded USD$740 million. For comparison, Alaska pollock exports were not much ahead with ca. 1067 million USD, according to FISHNET analysts who studied customs raw data.

Despite resistance from some established industry players Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture has worked out and submitted to the Government a draft law on allocating 50% of quota shares for crab capture for the period of 10 years at auctions, the quotas to be linked to investments into construction of new objects in Russia, according to the ministry.

On 1 March 2019 Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries will open the fourth stage of application campaign for those fishing companies who are willing to get extra capture quotas in return for obligation to invest into building of new fishing vessels or processing facilities inside Russia, according to FAF.

The Government of Russia is now mulling mandatory sale of crab and APO roe at auctions meaning that harvesters will be not allowed to export their products without bringing at least a part of the catch to auction, according to the nation’s fishery head Ilya Shestakov quoted by RG.

In 2018 the Russian Far East customs office cleared 1.5 million metric tons of seafood for export to the international market, or 9.3% up as compared to 1.41 million tonnes last year, according to the office’s head Yuri Ladynin.

Vladmorrybport OAO (plc), a marine fish port in Vladivostok, Russia, has started construction of a new coldstore complex with up to 40,000-tonnes capacity, according to the company.

Russia’s harvest of aquatic bioresources in 2018 turned out to be a record high for the last 26 years totaled 5.03 million metric tons to display an increase of 5.1% higher on 2017 and is a record for, according to the nation’s Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Leading Faroese salmon producer Bakkafrost has increased its sales of frozen salmon and trout to Russia, according to the customs records of the country.

The Chilean-based firm AUSTRALIS MAR SA, part of Australis Seafoods S.A, has nearly doubled its sales of frozen salmon and trout to Russia, according to the customs records of the country.

Northern Shipyard (Severnaya Verf) from Saint Petersburg and one of the nation’s largest fishing companies NOREBO have agreed to build four more factory trawlers under the project No.1707001. Thus, the series of trawlers to be built for NOREBO has gone up to 10 vessels.

Rossiya Airlines has completely renewed the menu for Business and Economy classes on long-haul flights.The new menu takes into account tastes and preferences of Far Eastern passengers, and products are mostly local, according to the airline’s release.

FISHNET team has produced and published a user-friendly guide of Russian companies’ shares and quotas for fishery in 2019.

Among other things, Russia’s target of $8 billion seafood exports by 2024 can be reached through greater exportation of non-TAC regulated species, marine culture and greater sales of value-added products to Chinese market, CEO of Dobroflot Group Alexander Yefremov told Fishnews.

On December 28, 2018, the Russian government approved the concept of creating and operating a system of marking and traceability of goods. The document is aimed at eliminating the illegal circulation of industrial goods, according to Russia's Federal Agency for Fisheries.

In the closing week of 2018 Magadan fishermen finally got their quotas 2019 for commercial fishery of blue king crab, red king crab, golden king crab and opilio crab in the Sea of Okhotsk, according to Kolyma.

Kamchatka’ first aquaculture farm has been licenced to grow kelp, Pacific mussels and sea urchin in the Vilyuchinsk Bay (part of Avacha Bay) and the future farmers are now installing collector lines for the aquatic species. The project’s initiator is Avacha-tral Ltd, which has been engaged in fishing gear manufacture for twenty years and has decided to diversify into aquaculture and become the region’s pioneer in the sector, according to the company’s CEO Vladimir Rezvanov as quoted by krkk.pro

Preliminary forecasts of SakhNIRO fishery research institute indicate much less abundant runs of salmons to the islands as compared to last year 2018, according to SKR.

Abrau-Durso Russian Wine House and Crimean Seafood oyster farm, both based in Crimea, have joined forces to set up a chain of restaurants in Russia to offer Black Sea oysters and wine. The chain’s first restaurant called “Dozen: oysters and wine” was launched in Moscow on the New Year eve, according to RBC.

Russian fishery industry still has quite a number of excessive barriers preventing the sector from more efficient operation, according to a dedicated study conducted by the national research university Higher School of Economics and VARPE Association of Fishery Industrials and Exporters.

Russia on holiday until 9 January 2019.

As per mid-December 2018, the Russian fleets continued active fisheries with a 6% rise on last year. By the end of the year Russia’s total harvest is forecasted to exceed 5 million metric tons (namely 5.05 million tonnes). It will be a record volume since 1992 when the Russian fishermen harvested 5.6 million tonnes of aquatic resources, according to Head of the nation’s Federal Agency for Fisheries Ilya Shestakov briefing fishery journalists on the New Year’s eve.

As per mid-December the government commission for development of the fishery complex chaired by Vice-PM Alexey Gordeev has reviewed the draft law stipulating amendments to the Tax Code as regards fees for capture of aquatic biological resources, according to the Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture has turned down a request from the Fish Union (non-profit organization of mostly processors and importers) to lift import ban on pelagic fish (Atlantic herring, mackerel, capelin and capelin roe, Baltic sprat) originating from the countries which imposed sanctions on Russia, according to the Ministry’s press-service as quoted by RIA Novosti.

As of January 2019 the Russian fishermen will be operating in a single fishing space and under a single commercial capture quota as opposed to the previous division to inshore and offshore fishing zones as well as separate offshore and inshore quota entitlements, according to Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries (FAF).

As per early December Vyborg Shipyard has launched “Barents Sea” trawler-processor for Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet, design KMT01, according to the yard.

Russian Fishery Company (RFC) has completed the preparatory phase to enable start of construction of a state-of-the-art “Russian Pollock” processing factory in the Nadezhdinskaya Advanced Development Territory, according to RFC’s mid-December release.

An Icelandic manufacturer of fish processing and freezing equipment for small fishing boats is scrutinizing localization of machinery assembly in Leningrad Oblast surrounding Saint Petersburg, according to CEO of Leningrad Oblast Centre for Industry Development Andrey Pivinskiy.

Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries (FAF) sees no prerequisites for dropping the plans of allocating half of crab quota shares at electronic auctions, according to media reports as per mid-December.

The Head of the Rosselkhoznadzor held a meeting with First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic Horacio Reyser on the G20 sidelines in Buenos Aires (Argentina). Horacio Reyser co-chairs the Russian-Argentinean Intergovernmental Commission which from the Russian side is headed by Sergey Dankvert. Minister of Agriculture of the Argentine Republic Luis Miguel Etchevehere and President of the National Service of Agri-Food Health and Quality (SENASA) of the Argentine Republic Ricardo Luis Negri also took part in the meeting, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.

In November 2018 a number of fish processing and fishing companies based in Vladivostok-led Primorskiy Krai (Primorye for short) exhibited their products at the largest Asian international show China Fisheries & Seafood Expo, all of them now working at export contracts with new foreign partners, according to Primorye Government.