The Russian Fishery Company (RFC) has announced alongside its Q3 results that the company’s results so far in 2020 are ahead of 2019.
The company’s total catch in the first nine months of 2020 amounted to 255,000 metric tons (MT), 6,000 MT ahead of the same period in 2019. Of that catch pollock – by far the largest species caught by volume and the main target of RFC – amounted to 231,000 MT. That amount is roughly 10,000 MT, or 5 percent, higher than in 2019.
So far this year, the company has caught 80 percent of its pollock fishing quota, which is set at 283,800 MT in 2020.
At the same time as the company has increased its pollock catch, it announced its “high-margin products” production has also increased. Pollock fillet and minced meat production exceeded 2019 production by 16 percent. Another higher margin product, pollock roe, also increased by 18 percent. Output of all products overall is up by 5 percent.
“The company is working in response to the difficult situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” RFC Director General Viktor Litvinenko said in a press release. “We optimize logistics, provide unprecedented measures to minimize the risk of contamination of crews and products.”
According to the release, the company “maintained its presence in key markets in Russia, China, Korea and Europe at the level of the previous year.”
The company’s press release did not make any mention of the company’s recent loss of Marine Stewardship Council certification after the company was expelled from the Pollock Catchers Association, the MSC client group in Russia. The company was ousted after it proposed drastic changes to the management of the national fishery sector.
While the company is aiming to regain MSC certification on its own, its current lack of a certification could pose a problem for retailers that have made commitments to carry more seafood with the MSC label, such as Kaufland, Tesco, and many more.
In spite of the MSC setback, RFC still has big forward-looking plans. The company is currently planning to have 11 supertrawlers built, each designed to have an annual catch of 60,000 MT of fish. Construction on the fourth supertrawler began earlier this year.
