Omega plant: Putin urged to provide Russians with fish at an affordable price

Fishing in Russia by the end of 2025 will reach 4.7 million tons, of which 1.5 million tons are caught in Kamchatka. This became known at a meeting that Vladimir Putin held with members of the government on October 29. Pollock, herring and Far Eastern salmon began to be caught more often, while cod and sardine iwasi, on the contrary, became less frequent due to their migration. Russians on average consume about 24 kg of fish per year, which is less than the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, the president noted. In this regard, he reminded that residents of all regions of the country should sell this product at an affordable price. Rosrybolovstvo promised that there would be enough volumes not only for the domestic market, but also for export. By the end of 2025, it will amount to about $6 billion rubles: supplies are going to 90 countries, but the main buyers are China and the Republic of Korea. Whether the industry has coped with the sanctions and to whom fish products prolong life — in the Izvestia article.

What kind of fish was most often caught in Russia

Vladimir Putin held a regular meeting with the Cabinet of Ministers on October 29. This time, the development of the country's fisheries sector is on the agenda. The topic was discussed, as they say, from all sides — both from the point of view of the situation with shipbuilding, and, no less importantly, from the point of view of the supply of fish to store shelves at reasonable prices.

— Russia has unique reserves of biological resources. And it is very important not only to extract them, but also to ensure their processing and transportation. Moreover, the interests of the domestic market should be a priority, so that the catch of Russian fishermen and the products of fishing enterprises arrive on the shelves of shops and markets, and residents of all regions of Russia can buy these high—quality goods at an affordable price, as I have already said," Vladimir Putin stressed.

So far, the level of consumption of fish and seafood in the nutrition structure of Russians lags behind the norm of the Ministry of Health at 28 kg: in the Russian Federation, an average of 24 kg per person is consumed, the president noted.

— The health of the nation depends on it. In countries where the consumption of fish and seafood is quite high — in some countries it is twice as high as in our country — life expectancy is higher there," he stressed.

In total, about 4.7 million tons of aquatic biological resources are planned to be caught this year (in other words, it is not only fish, but also invertebrates, aquatic mammals and algae). This will be enough to meet the domestic needs of the country, Ilya Shestakov, head of Rosrybolovstvo, assured at the meeting. However, according to the agency's statistics, fishing in the country is decreasing annually: Russian fishermen caught 4.8 million tons of fish and other aquatic biological resources in 2024, which, in turn, is 8% less than in 2023. Now, however, for some types of fish — pollock, herring and Far Eastern salmon — the catch exceeds last year's figures. For others, on the contrary, it is lower, for example, for cod in the Barents Sea and the iwasi sardine in the Far East. This is due to their migration.

At the same time, there is a positive trend. The catch of Kamchatka fishermen has doubled since the beginning of the 2010s: by the end of 2025, 1.5 million tons of fish are expected in this region, the head of the region, Vladimir Solodov, told the president.

— The basis for Kamchatka is salmon fishing. This year, Kamchatka fishermen have produced more than 250 thousand tons, or 75% of the total Russian catches," the governor said.

Today, the TOP 5 most preferred fish include trout and salmon (40%), mackerel (35%), pink salmon, sockeye, chum, chinook, coho (32%), pollock and herring are preferred by 25% of Russians, the Agency for the Promotion of Fish Products told Izvestia. At the same time, 75% of Russians named pollock as one of the products with the optimal price-quality ratio.

— Insufficient consumption of fish relative to the standards recommended by the Ministry of Health may also be due to the low activity of the industry in the media space compared to other protein products. For example, the level of media investments (money invested in popularizing a product in the media) in meat and poultry increased by 49% in 2025, while in fish, on the contrary, decreased by 47%," Yakov Adamov, head of the Agency for the Promotion of Fish Products, told Izvestia.

Export targets of the fishing industry in 2025

The total catch will be enough for export supplies, Ilya Shestakov added. It is expected that in this way the country will gain about $6 billion rubles in 2025, he estimated. Exports in January-July already amounted to about 1.3 million tons, which is 3% higher than in 2024. In total, by the end of last year, Russia exported 2.1 million tons of aquatic biological resources worth $5.2 billion.

At the same time, the industry experienced major changes in 2022-2024 due to limited access to product markets in the United States and EU countries. Now this place has been occupied mainly by Asian countries. There is less competition for them, and therefore export prices for the main objects of Russian fishing — pollock, herring and crabs — are expected to fall. But the situation is already changing for the better: export prices have returned to the long-term average, and the geography of export supplies has increased. Now they are sent to 90 countries: China and the Republic of Korea are still the main buyers.

The head of Rosrybolovstvo also told the president about the problems in the industry. In particular, the agency is having difficulties paying compensation to RusHydro.

— They think that you raise these tariffs too high, and their work becomes simply unprofitable. All these measures are too expensive for them, which, in their opinion, even exceed the necessary requirements from the point of view of ecology and environmental protection," the Russian leader noted. — Please take a close look, so as not to harm any industry.

Ilya Shestakov replied that in the Russian Federation, the assessment of fish damage is "much more lenient than in other countries," but expressed his willingness to finalize the tariff policy.

The fishing industry is extremely important for many spheres and industries, therefore, all measures must be taken for its normal functioning, the president said. In particular, quotas "under the keel" should be fair. It should be recalled that this is a program under which part of the quotas for fishing and seafood is allocated for the construction of new vessels. For example, trawlers (vessels for trawling fish, squid, and shrimp) are being built in the country, processing the catch using waste-free technology. The head of Rosrybolovstvo said that through investment quotas, 24 vessels are planned to be completed during 2026, including 13 fishing vessels and 11 crab fishing vessels. Two research vessels and one vessel for Lake Baikal are also under construction, which will be commissioned as early as 2025.

The governor of Kamchatka, the main fishing region of the country, also expressed his suggestions. Vladimir Solodov noted the great potential of transportation of these products by the Northern Sea Route and asked to keep subsidizing this direction. According to the estimates of the head of the region, in two or three years it will be self-sufficient, since the test transportation that Kamchatka carried out in previous years showed demand and interest in this route.