Deputy Head of Russian Fishery Agency Vasily Sokolov. (Photo: КаспНИРХ)

Salmon aquaculture boost becomes new government strategic aim by 2030

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Saturday, March 16, 2019, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

Salmon share in Russia’s aquaculture is set to rise to over a third (37 per cent), according to development plans for the sector drawn up by the government, the deputy head of the Federal Agency for Fishery Vasily Sokolov stated.

"We want to change the species structure of aquaculture. As you see, we [now] have 65 per cent of carp breeding. A different goal is set in our strategy by 2030, that is, salmons should account for at least 37 per cent [in fish farming] because these are the most valuable and promising targets, from our point of view," Sokolov pointed out.

Cages for salmon farming in the Kamchatka peninsula

The official said that other species would also be introduced into the business, particularly whitefish, TASS agency reported.

Official statistics show that fish farmers bred 239,000 tonnes of fish in 2018 with the Southern Federal District taking the lead followed by the Northwestern Federal District comprising Karelia, which sits on the Gulf Stream and has water warm enough for salmon, despite the freezing winters. It accounts for 88 per cent of trout grown in the country. Salmon breeding reached 28 per cent but carp farming in Southern Russia is still in the leading position.

Harvest and processing of salmon in the Far East of Russia

Sokolov explained that the huge amount of water that can be provided to the business is the key factor in aquaculture development, adding that the agency plans to convert all auctions of water areas to be allocated into the electronic format, similar to sea areas.

"The algorithm of such auctions has already been worked out with the RTS [Russian electronic trading platform - TASS] platform. It is absolutely corruption-free, transparent, and enables the user to independently participate in these auctions. It is only needed to undergo the accreditation procedure," the official noted.
 
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

Print