Fish industry news

Representatives of Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery of Japan, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan met in Tokyo, Japan, to discuss lifting temporary restrictions on import of fish and sea products to Russia from Japan imposed due to the accident at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Station

Russia's Vladivostok-based Pollock Catchers Association and Fish Union (based in Moscow and amalgamating one of two rival groups of seafood importers and processors) have joined forces towards formation of what was described as a modern and effectively functioning national fish market

Russia's Fish Union amalgamating one of two rival groups of seafood importers and processors has called on Duma to make a Federal Law on origin, movement and identification of food products

In June 2012 the Russian harvest in the Atlantic Ocean amounted to ** MT, ** MT up on the previous month 2012. The contribution of Kaliningrad-based vessels amounted to ca.**%, reports www.megafishnet.com.

Russia's vet watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) has published information that laboratory tests of Nile perch fillet imported from the Netherlands have demonstrated that quantity of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms exceeded the admissible levels. The Rosselkhoznadzor had already warned the plant producing these products on its noncompliance with the Russian requirements and standards and implemented enhanced laboratory control over its products

During recent talks with Faroe Islands Russia's vet watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) said that under the current conditions the body should at first review the inspection system of the exporting country for its compliance with the OIE Codes and Codex Alimentarius for individual types of products. Using this approach, the European Commission has been evaluating Russian poultry meat production system for 7 years already while for other commodities in which the EC was more interested, for example, for venison or fish the issue was solved more quickly. By comparison, previously Rosselkhoznadzor could give a certain credit of trust to veterinary services of exporting countries and include new plants in the List against their guarantees.

Reached an agreement on strategic cooperation "Duko-Tech" and "Vladimir leasing company." For greater availability of equipment, "Duko-Technician" to our customers, developed a special program to lease on favorable terms.

Full production is planned HB Grandi's Reykjavik and Akranes this summer with students on the payroll to cover the regular staff's holidays. At Vopnafjordur there has been a break in production since the end of the capelin season on the 4th of March, and staff have recently been on their summer break. With herring and mackerel fishing set to start at the end of this month, production should be under way again at the beginning of next month ...

Some 300,000 red king crab juveniles have been released in the coastal area of the Barents Sea as Murmansk fishery scientists have called for state support to expand the operations to increase reproduction of this valuable shellfish introduced into the area from Kamchatka back in 1950s

In May 2012 compared to May 2011 the import from foreign countries of fish and water invertebrates dropped while meat and poultry influx increased at a high rate.

In January - April 2012 compared to the same period of the last year the production of live, fresh or chilled fish declined, while the crustaceans and other water invertebrates increased.

The Russian Statistics Committee published the report "Commissioning of Production Facilities in the Russian Federation in 2011".

The Fisheries sector of Russia may use WTO mechanisms to remove barriers for promotion of products to some countries. Such barriers exist in the form of special registration of exporters, complicated and sophisticated procedure of passing such registration

The Russian Federal Fisheries Agency has put forward a proposal to increase export duties for Pacific herring caught by Far East fishermen and to decrease import duties for Atlantic herring. Thus, the authorities intend to saturate the domestic market with herring caught by Russian and foreign fishermen to keep the "popular" fish in the average price segment. The move however has faced vehement opposition, first of all from Russia's pacific fishing companies who are unhappy both with the idea of increased export tariffs and lifted barriers for competition

April 2012 was marked first of all by strong shipments of frozen pollock roe from the Russian Far East to main export markets as well as by a serious rise of Japanese import of live crab and a dramatic increase of Chinese import of frozen Russian salmon, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

The exports of sea-frozen cod and haddock from Murmansk in Mid-June have developed against the background of crisis in EU and seasonal factors

Aker Seafoods ASA continues the renewal of the trawler fleet and has made an agreement to sell the vessel «Hekktind» to a Russian company. However, the sale may have probably resulted from the fact that the trawler reportedly lost its licence earlier this year due to illegal fish dumping.