Russian Fishery Company caught 323,000 metric tons (MT) of fish in 2020, a record volume for the company.
The Vladivostok, Russia-based fishing company, which is one of the largest producers of pollock and Pacific herring in the world, is in the middle of an expansion through Russia’s investment quota program, embarking on a new processing plant and “supertrawler” construction campaign that will help it transition to producing higher-quality, value-added products.
RFC’s 2020 catch is up 3,150 tons from 2019, including its full quota allocation for pollock – a total of 283,800 MT, up 14,000 MT from 2019. RFC reported its production of high-margin deep processed products significantly increased last year – a major goal of the company.
“Increasing the share of products with high added value is one of the strategic goals of the Russian Fishery Company,” RFC General Director Viktor Litvinenko said in a press release. “The company continues to move confidently in this direction. We have begun to decommission outdated vessels to replace them with modern facilities, which will make harvesting and fish processing more efficient with growing catch volumes. At the end of last year, we received the first supertrawler of the new fleet, [the] Vladimir Limanov. The vessel's capacities for the production of deep processed products will allow RFC to increase their output and start producing surimi. "
RFC reported its production of pollock fillets and mince increased by 25 percent last year, while its pollock roe production exceeded its 2019 production by 19 percent.
Last year also saw RFC enter several new sales market, including selling pollock fillets in Singapore for the first time’ as well as headless pollock in Poland; herring in Spain, Tunisia, and Kazakhstan; sardines in Thailand; and pollock roe domestically in Russia.
After several months of turmoil, RFC reported earlier this month the company was reinstated on the list of MSC-certified pollock catchers, allowing it to produce and sell MSC-certified products once more.
“RFC continues to use the group MSC certificate, the holder of which is the Pollock Catchers Association. In order to minimize risks in the market for MSC-certified products, RFC has begun a new certification procedure for this standard,” RFC said. “The company plans to expand its presence on the domestic market, produce new types of products, and develop new markets, including the surimi market.”
The year just ended also saw RFC make progress in its plan to build a new fleet of 11 supertrawlers. With the Vladimir Limanov, the company will be able to produce about 15,000 MT of fillets, mince, and surimi annually, including 4,000 to 5,000 MT of new product.
The company expects to receive two more supertrawlers in 2021, with each trawler designed to catch 60,000 MT of fish annually, 2.5 times higher than the productivity of its current vessels operating in the Russian Far East Fishery Basin.
Also in 2020, RFC opened its Russian Pollock coastal processing plant, which has a daily production capacity of up to 155 MT.
Photo courtesy of Russian Fishery Company
