Overview of fisheries in Russia's Far East as per 7th March 2010

In the first seven days of March 2010 the daily catch rates on the pollock grounds in the Sea of Okhotsk did not go beyond 9000 tonnes. The fishery was conducted by ca.160 vessels. Losses of the fishing time were mostly due to processing delays. Actual fishing time amounted to 80-85.50% of all the time spent by large trawlers at sea and 77-84% for middle trawlers, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ (https://www.fishnet.ru/) with reference to the fishery sources in Vladivostok.

Possibility to cover the quotas at the expense of the West Kamchatka subarea, good quality of the raw fish and high roe yield encouraged the fleet's maximum concentration in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea.

The vessels were mostly concentrating in the waters of the Lebed Bank and Ozernov depths break where the fishing operations were conducted by 57-63 large vessels and 28-30 middle ships. In the area the fleet was working at the depths of 270-380 meters. Large vessels caught 33-37 tonnes per tow. The Kamchatka Kurile subarea continued contributing the largest harvest of pollock. The subarea's total harvest through the week amounted to 31,300 tonnes. In that subarea the fishermen reported the maximum catch of 8.3 tonnes per tow, versus 6.8-6.7 tonnes in the North Okhotsk and West Kamchatka subareas. The roe yield amounted to ca.5% versus 4.1% and 3.5% in other subareas. Minimum bycatch of young fish amounted to less than 5%.

The number of vessels operating in the North Okhotsk subarea grew as more large vessels joined the fishing fleet on the grounds. In early March 2010 about 40 out of 110 large vessels participating in the pollock fishery in the Sea of Okhotsk were operating in the area. Production indices of the vessels operating in the area were higher, namely at 103-105 tonnes per large vessel daily on the average versus 86-96 tonnes in the south of the West Kamchatka coast of the peninsula. Harvested pollock was larger, the average weight of fish amounting to 616 grams versus 580 grams in Kamchatka-Kurile waters. The daily catch rates were dominated by females accounting for 53.7%, while in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea the share of females amounted to 48.4% and in West Kamchatka such share amounted to 46.2%.

The West Kamchatka subarea remained not popular in the current season. To the north of the 54th degree North 22 vessels continued the dedicated pollock fishery. Those were the vessels based in Vladivostok-led Primorye, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk. As per the beginning of the week, the subarea's average catch rates per tow amounted to 40 tonnes for large vessels and 16.5 tonnes for middle vessels. Besides, in the above subarea the bycatch of juvenile fish reached 15%.

The weekly harvest was broken down between the subareas as follows: 24,200 tonnes in the North Okhotsk subarea, 5700 tonnes in the West Kamchatka subarea and 36,700 tonnes in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea.

Vessels location in fishing areas and expedition's pollock catch as per 7 March 2010

Vladivostok-based fishermen remained leading pollock harvesters. A group of 42 large trawlers based in Vladivostok-led Primorsky Krai was operating in the Sea of Okhotsk. Along with this fishing fleet, Vladivostok fleet also included more than 32 middle fishing and receiving vessels. From the beginning of the year the province's fishermen harvested ca.193,000 tonnes of pollock or 51.4% of allocated quotas, more than 54,000 tonnes up on last year.

However, the dynamics of pollock catches was higher for Chukotka and Kamchatka fishermen. More specifically, Chukotka fishermen harvested 8500 tonnes or 60.8% out of the quota of 14,000 tonnes. Kamchatka fishermen covered 53.3% of the quotas with the total harvest from the beginning of the year amounting to 150,000 tonnes. A group of 39 large ships participated in the fishery.

Sakhalin-based fishermen were slightly behind their Kamchatka colleagues in terms of quota take-up (Sakhalin fleets covered 51.6% of the quota). However, the catch volumes were much lower at only 80,900 tonnes, the fishing efforts amounting to 17 large ships.

Less than one half of allowable pollock catches was harvested by Khabarovsk and Magadan fishermen, namely 34,800 tonnes or 47% and 14,500 tonnes or 45.5%.

In general, the commercial pollock quotas in the current season were covered at 51.6%. The result for the same period of last year did not exceed 50% (47.9%).

At the same time, extension of the pollock fishing season in autumn-winter period as well consolidation of two subareas at the West Kamchatka coast of the Sea of Okhotsk (leading to summarized take-up of pollock allocations) resulted into changes in conventional progressing of the pollock fishery. As compared with last year, take-up of pollock quotas through the period under analysis was as follows: in the North Okhotsk subarea - 29.9% in 2010 and 41.3% in 2009; in the West Kamchatka subarea - 12.5% in 2010 and 40.2% in 2009; in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea - 151.3% in 2010 and 70.5% in 2009.

Provisional pollock catch figures broken down between the regions and fishing areas as per 7 March 2010

In the second week of March 2010 the fishery situation was expected to be fairly good on the grounds thanks to good weather conditions. However, the pollock stocks were forecasted to be moving northwards to the spawning grounds, the catches to contain increasing number of spawners with flowing roes. The need to expand the stock spotting areas would probably arise as well. Forecasters also spoke about inevitable losses of fishing time both due to processing delays and pauses for bunkering and transshipment, acute shortages of which made the fishing fleet queue.

The fishery situation on the pollock grounds was fairly good, rich catches to form companies' economic backlog for the remaining period of the year.

Therefore, only one middle vessel remained operating on the herring grounds by the end of the year. All the vessels went to harvest pollock on the grounds. The herring catch went down to 470 tonnes through the period. The catch lag on the same period of last year amounted to 23,400 tonnes. Taking into account favourable fishery situation, rich fishing stocks as confirmed by the basin's scientists, in February 2010 the decision was made to extend the herring fishery to 1 May 2010. Take-up of commercial herring quotas amounted to only 6.2% versus 18.5% last year.

In April 2010 the fishery situation on the herring grounds is expected to be in keeping with March 2010. Large schools of herring will be formed on the ways of the stock's migration to the spawning grounds.

Provisional catches in particular fishing areas in the first week of March 2010 (based on the daily catch rates as reported by skippers)

As for the other fishing areas and species, in the first week of March 2010 the Russian fleets conducted longline cod fishery with the bycatch of halibuts, skates and grenadier in the Petropavlovsk-Comandor subarea, in the North Kuriles and in three subareas of the Sea of Okhotsk. The longline cod harvest amounted to 475 tonnes.

In the south of East Kamchatka, in the North and South Kuriles the fishermen were catching pollock, cod, flounder and sculpins with trawl and Danish seine gear. Apart from finfish, in the North Kuriles one shipowner based in the islands was targeting sea scallops, the weekly harvest of which amounted to 23 tonnes. Sea scallops were also harvested in the waters of the South Kuriles, but there the catch volumes were lower, at 10 tonnes namely. Along with scallops, in the waters of the South Kurile Islands the fishermen were also hunting for grey sea urchins (80 tonnes) and sea cucumber (10 tonnes).

In the inshore waters of West Kamchatka two ships set bottom nets for halibut fishery, the weekly harvest reported at ca.30 tonnes.

Ice conditions in the Sea of Okhotsk impeded successful operations of crabbers targeting golden king crab in the North Okhotsk subarea and snow crab bairdi in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea. The golden king harvest of two vessels amounted to ca.29 tonnes. Six crabbers were operating on the grounds of snow crab bairdi with the result reported at 52 tonnes.

Shrimpers were finally pushed away by the ice fields from the North Okhotsk subarea and had to move to the Kamchatka Kurile subarea. The daily catch rates in the area amounted to 0.5-1.5 tonnes per ship. The total harvest of deepwater shrimp through the first week of March 2010 amounted to 161 tonnes, the daily catch rates reported at 3.7-3.8 tonnes per vessel and 643-670 kilos per tow. In the Kamchatka-Kurile subarea the total harvest through the period under analysis amounted to ca.29 tonnes with the daily catch rates of 1.4-1.5 tonnes per ship and 350-370 tonnes per tow. In the Sea of Japan catches of deepwater shrimp in the first week of March 2010 amounted to 147 tonnes.

Flounder, pollock, sculpins and Atka mackerel were harvested in the Sea of Japan. As for non-finfish aquatic species, the Russian fishermen were harvesting red tanner crab with the result of 74 tonnes and coonstripe shrimp (Pandalus hypsinotis) with the result of 22 tonnes.