The results of recent auctions for crab quotas in Russia have created more clarity around how many new vessels will be built to target the fishery in coming years.
The auctions, which took place in October, handed out 15-year fishing rights to around 50 percent of Russia’s total allowable catch for crab, or around 46,000 metric tons (MT). Eighteen separate companies collectively bought 36 of the 41 lots up for bid, and as part of the requirements for the transfer of the quota, all the auction-winners are required to build new crab-fishing vessels at Russian shipyards with lengths of no less than 50 meters within the next five years.
The choice of a shipyard for the construction of a vessel is to be carried out in accordance with the “we build where we catch” principle, which means that 26 of the 36 new crab vessels must be built in the Russian Far East, with the other 10 at shipyards in the North Western region.
The first ship has already been laid down. In late November, the crab firm Dalnevostochnoe Poberezhieat began construction on its first of four new vessels it has planned to launch by 2023 at the Vostochnaya Shipyard.
The Russian government will assist in the construction effort by allocating at least RUB 10 billion (USD 156.5 million, EUR 141.3 million) for subsidies to cover up to 20 percent of the construction of a crab ship. Each vessel costs an estimated RUB 1 billion (USD 15.7 million, EUR 14.1 million), with the final price tag dependent on the equipment installed and composition of the vessel.
However, German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fishing Industry (VARPE), Russia’s largest fish industry association, has expressed concern that the subsidies may not arrive in time.
“There is an instruction from President [Putin] about the subsidies, but we don’t see even a draft of a document from the Ministry for Industry and Trade to regulate the mechanism of distributing them. So we don’t know how they will be allocated,” Zverev said. “Bearing in mind that the procedure of consideration and approval of such documents is rather difficult, we may face a year-long delay in the allocation of the subsidies.”
Photo courtesy of RomanRus/Shutterstock
