Russia increases revenue from fish products exports almost 20% in 2025 - deputy PM Patrushev

MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax) - Russia exports fish products to over 100 countries and increased export revenue by almost 20% in 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said at a meeting of the Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) on Wednesday.

"Fish product exports continued developing. There were over 2 million tonnes in 2025, which helped export revenue to increase by almost 20%. In spite of everything, Russian fish produce is sold on the shelves of over 100 countries worldwide. This once again confirms the status of the Russian Federation as a reliable trade partner," Patrushev said.

Patrushev said that despite the fact that fishing decreased to 4.7 million tonnes "due to environmental factors" in 2025, "the result achieved fully meets the needs of the domestic market and guarantees the completion of all our export goals". "And in general, we are confidently maintaining our position among the top-five leading countries in terms of production volume. For certain types of aquatic biological resources last year, fishermen had some very decent results. For example, salmon fishing grew by more than 40%. Pollock fishing exceeded 2 million tonnes - the best result in the last quarter of a century, accounting for more than half of the volume produced globally," he said. "Far East fishing companies caught almost 600,000 tonnes of herring, which is a record for the whole history of Russian fishing."

Patrushev said that aquaculture also increased its results in 2025 to 390,000 tonnes.

He said that the industry's key task was to continue increasing the volume of fish caught. He said an ambitious catch of 6 million tonnes by 2030 had previously been discussed as a benchmark. "Increasing production is of course linked to the issue of updating the fishing boat fleet. This work is being done as part of the 'keel quota' program. We are therefore paying close attention to the scheduled commissioning of sites on the government platform. As of today, 55 modern vessels have already been handed over to customers. Eight more will be handed over by the end of the year," Patrushev said.

He said of the Big African Expedition, completed this year, that its results were "absolutely applicable for the industry: there are both intergovernmental agreements in the research field and concrete fishing opportunities for Russian fishermen".

Patrushev said that the government was trying to reduce risks for investors, taking into account the current situation, and assist the completion of shipbuilding work. "For example, the government has increased the maximum construction deadline for fishing vessels from eight to 12 years," he said, adding that the keel quota program was not just about overhauling the fleet. "Considering the necessity of increasing fishing, it is extremely important that we fulfil the quotas which are allocated fully. I ask that you watch out for this constantly and react as necessary, in a timely fashion," he said.

As reported, Russian fishermen caught 4.7 million tonnes of fish in 2025, versus 4.9 million tonnes in 2024.