Fish industry news

The Russian Union of Producers and Entrepreneurs organized hearings on influence of WTO membership on the agricultural complex of Russia which is now in the process of joining the World Trade Organisation, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Sergey Gudkov, CEO of Russia's Fish Union, announced a concept for national electronic system to trace seafood origin and transportation. Launch of such system provides for development of rules defining the order for entering the information on seafood origin and transportation which would form the rights and charges of the federal authorities in the sphere of surveillance and control of fish quality and safety, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

November export pattern is closer to winter standards. There are fewer direct shipments to Japan - just leftovers of salmon roes, the last lots of sea urchin and prawns. Shipments of pink salmon and Pollock have also continued with Russian Pollock exports showing the most interesting developments, reports www.megafishnet.com.

According to fishing fleets’ managers Russia is virtually facing a situation of forthcoming rapid fleet decline because of old age and condition of the fishing boats unless urgent measures are taken to rectify the problem. So far the options explored to take the challenge have had to do with rebuilding, conversion and refitting. For example, Pacific Andes, very active in an indirect way in Russian pollock fisheries, has recently preferred to extend the hull of a BATM large trawler, convert an old tanker to a mothership and start refitting the 10 year + old Victoria floating processor currently rusting in China. The fast growing Karat Group (the new owner of Kamchatka-based Akros) has sold two old boats to buy a 15-year old supertrawler. However neither rebuilding nor purchase of second-hand vessels is an adequate answer to the threat. Could an international solution be found for the huge task by combining the forces of the newly-formed giant United Shipbuilding Corporation (Russia) and, let us say, Norwegian yards?

In 2012 Western Yard will start building a ship yard for construction of fishing and research vessels in the village of Vzmorye, Kaliningrad region. The investments are estimated at RUR *** billion, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

As per the second week of November 2011 APO fishery has been finished, and substantial part of quota has been left in the water. As Japanese and American experts thought, substantial enough to make necessity of the TAC cut clear to at least part of those who make decision in TAC for 2012-2013. Actually, it turned out not THAT effective. The plan team has revised ABC recommendation up from 1,088 th. MT to 1,220. Of course, the final TAC will be set by the Council in December, but this is the first time ever they set a higher ABC level compared to science recommendation, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ with reference to Russian, American and Japanese sources.

According to provisional figures as per 15 November 2011, the total salmon harvest in the Russian Far East in 2011 amounts to *** MT. The grand total harvest including driftnet catches (Russian and Japanese) is as high as *** MT, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

In October 2011 Russian fishermen were targeting Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea and in the Sea of Okhotsk, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Ambitious plans for aquaculture development in Russia's North Fisheries Basin may enable national fish farmers to win competition with Norwegian salmon and trout producers on the Russian market, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Experts say that now there are two key trends on the Russian fish market, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Big Russian importers of Norwegian salmon are trying to persuade their suppliers to switch over to exclusive five-year contracts. Other market insiders say that such position could result into a smaller number of market players, lower competition and higher prices, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Akros Company, a major quota holder in Kamchatka, has sent its most important partners letters that its major shareholders Mr. V. Vorobyev (General Director) and Mr.M. Mullyar ( Deputy General Director for Fishing and Fleet) have sold their shares, reports www.megafishnet.com.

Sakhalin judicial authorities continue campaign on early termination of agreements on ten-year shares of capture quotas with those companies which have covered less than one half of their allocations two years running, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Lithuania and Russia have come to an agreement on capture quotas 2012 in the Curonian Bay and in Lake Vistytis, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Representatives from Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Transport, Federal Customs Service and Federal State Unitary Enterprise Atomflot (providing technological service and maintenance of nuclear-powered icebreakers and special fleet) have recently met to discuss prospects for seafood shipments via the Northern Sea Route in 2012, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Russia and South Korea have signed a memorandum on control of quality and safety of imported and exported fish, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

Vladivostok-based Alaska Pollock Fishermen's Association and Moscow-based Association of Fish Processing and Trading Companies have decided to form a powerful coalition to develop a single position on urgent issues in the sphere of regulation of the Russian fish market and the nation's fishery industry in general, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/

According to the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's export of pangasius to international markets has been on a rise this year, though exporters have been facing a lack of raw fish and trends of export shipments to some countries, Russia in particular, have been changing in the opposite direction, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/