Russia and South Korea have agreed to higher quotas for South Korean vessels fishing in Russia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 2020.
The new quotas, agreed on at the Russia-South Korean Committee on Fishery Cooperation in a video conference, sits at 46,700 metric tons (MT) of seafood, a 10 percent increase over 2019 and the highest volume since 2015.
The quotas are split between species: Pollock’s allowable catch is 28,800 MT, saury is 7,500 MT, cod is 4,880 MT, squid is 4,700 MT, and all other fish is 820 MT. Pollock benefitted the most from the volume increase – the 28,800 MT quota is an increase of 20 percent over 2019.
The move will help South Korean processing plants, which are struggling with raw materials, South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries said, according to RN.ru.
In total, 86 South Korean vessels will operate in the Russian EEZ, with three harvesting pollock, two targeting cod, 11 fishing saury, and 70 fishing squid.
The first vessels will start fishing in May. In addition, this year’s squid season has been modified, and will start on 1 June and end on 30 November.
South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries added that the payment to Russia for fishing opportunities will remain at the same level it was in 2019, despite rising prices for seafood worldwide. The reason behind the lack of increase in payment to Russia was that it is the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries.
Photo courtesy of Onur Akkurt/Shutterstock
