Russia has wrapped up its 2021 salmon season with a catch of more than 520,000 metric tons (MT), far above the pre-season forecast of 460,000 MT and second only to 2018, when 676,000 MT was harvested.
This year's catch is 4.5 percent higher than 2019's, which was 498,000 MT, and far ahead of the abysmal 2020 season which saw a catch so low – 299,200 MT – it prompted calls for a new method of predicting the year’s harvest.
Russian fisheries authorities have not yet released a detailed breakdown of species by tonnage caught, but when the catch was at 511,000 MT earlier in the season, it consisted of 420,900 MT of humpback (pink) salmon landings, 51,300 MT of chum salmon, 31,000 MT of sockeye salmon, 7,400 MT of coho salmon, and 391 MT of chinook (king) salmon and salmon trout (cherry salmon).
Over half of the catch was landed in Kamchatka, which caught 440,000 MT – mostly comprised of pink salmon – far exceeding the region’s pre-season forecast of 360,000 MT. In an interview with news agency TASS, Kamchatka Minister of Fisheries Andrey Zdetovetskiy called it a very good result that had been achieved despite problems with logistics and handling facilities. He attributed the success to scientific assistance and quick decisions by the federal agency during the season. Zdetovetskiy also credited the work of government inspectors fighting against the illegal catching and trading of salmon and salmon roe in the region.
The promising results prompted Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries Head Ilya Shestakov to say that Russia doesn’t need imported salmon anymore. He said that until 2014, the country had been importing 120,000 MT of salmon from Norway annually. After Russia imposed a ban on food imports, the country's domestic production of salmon doubled, and this year, Shestakov said he expected 329,000 MT of domestic salmon products to be sold within the country.
In Russia, however, landing the catch is just one part of the complicated process of bringing products to market. During a meeting with fishing company executives and marine scientists, Shestakov said there needs to be a better process developed to deliver the catch to processing facilities and Russian consumers.
Russia has grappled with transporting its salmon catch from the Russian Far East to its more-populated western region for years, as problems with its rail system stymie the country’s ability to fully utilize its salmon catch. In 2020, Russian railway operators sought government aid for seafood transportation. At the meeting, Shestakov suggested a working group of representatives of railway operators and fisheries be established to solve problems impeding the catch from coming to market.
Shestakov said this year's salmon season also brought to light issues with fisheries management that the country needs to tackle.
“The season highlighted a few contradictions," he said. "We must tackle these problems before the start of the season 2022."
Shestakov said he would direct government attention to further developing the state’s management system and oversight of the salmon sector, augmenting scientific resources used to assist vessels in locating schools of fish and granting more authority to regional anadromous fish commissions.
Photo courtesy of Konstantin Baidin/Shutterstock
