Photo: Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo)

Russian Fishing Fleet Sets Strong Early Pace in 2026 with 139,000 Tons Harvested

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Friday, January 16, 2026, 05:00 (GMT + 9)

Far East Pollock "Season A" Drives Growth as National Catch Surpasses Early Projections

According to the latest data from the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo) industry monitoring system, the total catch of aquatic bioresources by Russian vessels since the start of 2026 has reached 139.2 thousand tons. This performance is bolstered by the launch of the critical Sea of Okhotsk fishing window, known as Season "A", which traditionally accounts for the bulk of the nation’s annual pollock output.

Photo: Rosrybolovstvo

Coming off a record-breaking 2025 where pollock yields exceeded 2.1 million tons—the highest in over a quarter-century—the Ministry of Agriculture has set an ambitious Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2026 at approximately 2.42 million tons. Ilya Shestakov, head of Rosrybolovstvo, noted that the industry is increasingly focused on deep processing and fleet modernization to maintain these high volumes.

Far Eastern Fishery Basin

The Far East remains the powerhouse of the industry, contributing 126 thousand tons to the national total.

• Pollock: The primary driver, with 76.6 thousand tons harvested. Industry experts, including Alexey Buglak, President of the Russian Pollock Association (ADM), anticipate a 3–4% increase in catch efficiency this season as a fleet of roughly 100 fishing vessels operates in the Sea of Okhotsk.

• Pacific Herring: 39.3 thousand tons.

• Cod: 4.3 thousand tons.

Northern Fishery Basin

Operations in the North have shown significant momentum, yielding 8.8 thousand tons. This represents a 20.5% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

• Cod: 3.9 thousand tons.

• Haddock: 2.8 thousand tons (an increase of 1.5 thousand tons over the 2025 level).

Western Fishery Basin

The Western region reported a total catch of 1.8 thousand tons, marking a sharp 34.5% rise year-on-year.

• Sprat: 1.3 thousand tons (up 0.7 thousand tons from 2025).

• Baltic Herring: 0.5 thousand tons.

Volga-Caspian Fishery Basin

Catches in the Caspian region reached 1.7 thousand tons, showing a healthy growth of 17.3% compared to the previous year.

• Sprat (Kilka): 1.7 thousand tons (an increase of 0.3 thousand tons over 2025 levels).

Azov-Black Sea Fishery Basin

The basin contributed 0.2 thousand tons to the national total at the start of the year.

• Anchovy: 0.2 thousand tons.

Photo: Rosrybolovstvo

International Operations

Beyond domestic waters, the Russian fishing fleet continues its global presence. In the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of foreign states, conventional areas, and the open parts of the World Ocean, Russian vessels have caught 0.6 thousand tons of aquatic bioresources so far in 2026.

Source: United Press Service of the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo).

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