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All news / Russia is betting on its aquaculture potential

  • 12 Oct 2018, 08:41

By 2030, the production should reach 700,000 tonnes, according to the deputy head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries.

 

Aquaculture may be a new industry developed in Russia but is starting to have a significant impact on the country's food security strategy. During a presentation held last month in Sankt Petersburg, Vasily Sokolov, the deputy head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries, mentioned that the target set for 2030 is of 700,000 tonnes of aquacultural products, informs Seafood Source magazine.
The ban on fish and seafood applied since 2014 helped the Russian aquaculture to develop at a faster pace even if the internal market is still flooded with ample wild-catch marine volumes (over 5 million MT for this year) and the lack of technology is creating problems for domestic producers.
Sokolov made the following forecasts for Russia’s aquaculture production: Whitefish will increase from 4,800 MT in 2017 to 7,000 MT in 2035; sturgeon will move from 3,200 MT in 2017 to 10,000 MT in 2035 and 20,000 in 2050; invertebrates (mostly shellfish) will increase from 4,300 MT in 2017 to 40,000 MT in 2035 and 100,000 MT in 2050; algae will go from 1,500 MT in 2017 to 15,000 MT in 2035, to 30,000 MT in 2050; and perch will hit 15,000 MT in 2035 and 150,000 MT in 2050.
A special focus is dedicated to shellfish and algae farming, with the government already setting incentives to attract private investors in the sector, mentioned the official. In 2017, the country’s aquaculture farms harvested nearly 186,000 MT of fish, consisting mainly of char, salmon, sturgeon, shrimp, and carp.