Fish industry news

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.