Murmansk fishermen reporting first capelin catches
Two Kaliningrad-based BATM large trawlers have showed reported the first capelin catches of ca.1000 metric tons in the Barents Sea as per 29 January 2010, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ (https://www.fishnet.ru/).
Taking into account that each of the trawlers can bring up to 1300 tonnes of frozen fish onboard, the catch rates by the end of the first ten days of February are possible at 60-70 tonnes per day. Delivery and landing of the capelin harvest from the Barents Sea to the Baltic waters will take another 10 days. According to provisional estimates, the first frozen capelin from the Barents Sea operations may appear on the markets of Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad on 25 February 2010 or so.
Table 1: Capelin products processed by Kaliningrad-based trawlers in the closing ten days of January 2010
No. | Products | Volume, metric tons |
1 | Capelin fat w/r frozen, 1st grade | 302.55 |
2 | Capelin fat w/r frozen, 41-45 fish per kilo, export quality | 640.29 |
Kaliningrad-based fishermen have received 20.5% (21,900 tonnes) from the nation's total commercial quota of 106,900 tonnes.
Table 2: Russian capelin quota 2010 in the Barents Sea as broken down between the regions (according to the order No. 1198 dated 25 December 2009 of Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency)
No. | Regions | Capelin quotas 2010, metric tons |
1 | Murmansk Region | 63,399.6 |
2 | Arkhangelsk Region | 15,258.1 |
3 | Republic of Karelia | 4676.1 |
4 | Nenets Autonomous District | 847.0 |
5 | Kaliningrad Region | 21,873.5 |
6 | Saint Petersburg | 523.6 |
7 | Leningrad Region (surrounding Saint Petersburg) | 262.9 |
TOTAL | 106,840.8 | |
OOO Maritime Star (ltd) is Kaliningrad's main user of capelin quotas in the Barents Sea controlling share 36% (7900 tonnes) of the region's total capelin quota.
Table 3: Users of Barents Sea capelin quotas in Kaliningrad
No. | Kaliningrad-based fishing companies | Capelin quotas 2010, metric tons |
1 | ZAO Westrybflot | 3703.7 |
2 | ZAO Rybopromyslovaya Kompania FOR | 1636.8 |
3 | ZAO Rybopromyshlennaya Kompania Rybflot-FOR | 5044.6 |
4 | OAO NPO Atlantrybflot | 3219.7 |
5 | OOO Zemland-Eksima | 323.4 |
6 | OOO Morskaya Zvezda (Maritime Star) | 7945.3 |
TOTAL | 21,873.5 | |
According to the report of IA REGNUM with reference to Maritime Star, the fishing company has been acquired by FOR Group of Companies and now the company is led by a new CEO. Maritime Star is one the region's largest fishing companies. Its founder and co-owner is Asan Nudurbergov.
In the recent weeks problems have been often reported with the company. For example, in June 2009 the public prosecutor's office disclosed the company's multiple violations of labor legislation, namely non-payment of wages. In October 2009 the Court of Arbitration decided to recover more than 150,000 Euro from the company as arrears on a lease contract. Headquarters as well as sales representatives of FOR Group are located in Saint Petersburg. The group includes two companies engaged in fishing, processing and seafood transportation. From 2001 to 2004 Rybflot-FOR, a mother company for FOR Group of Companies, was headed by now acting deputy plenipotentiary of the President in Russia's Northwest Federal District Alexander Datsyshin.