Travel Russia

Fishing industry in Russia

Russia's fishing industry is one of the largest in the world. Fish has long been an important source of protein in the Russian diet. During the Soviet period, the per capita consumption of fish rose to about 23 kg (about 50 lb) a year. Historically, fishing was concentrated on bordering seas and inland lakes and rivers. In recent decades, however, a great effort was made to expand fishing activities; Soviet fleets began to operate in most areas of the world's oceans, and fish farming was developed in erosion-control ponds and rural irrigation reservoirs and ditches. In the early 1990s Russia's annual catch was about 5.6 million metric tons. Marine fisheries accounted for the largest share of the catch. The saltwater Azov, Black, and Caspian seas, in addition to freshwater lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and ponds, accounted for the inland catch. In the mid-1990s, Russia's fishing industry ranked fourth in the world, after Japan, the United States, and China.
Outstanding among commercial species in inland waters is the sturgeon of the northern Caspian Sea. The main source of the world's caviar, these fish may live as long as 100 years and attain weights of up to 1.5 metric tons. A single female commonly produces about 25 kg (about 55 lb) of valuable roe (eggs). Another huge fish is the Kaluga sturgeon or Amur queen found in the Amur River; the world's largest freshwater fish, it may reach 6 m (20 ft) in length and 1 metric ton in weight.
About 25 percent of the Russian fish catch comes from the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Much of the Atlantic fishing fleet is based at ports on the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad is the largest Russian fishing port on the Baltic; another important Baltic port is Saint Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland. The principal commercial species taken in the Baltic Sea are herring and sprat. Murmansk and Arkhangel'sk are the most important fishing ports on the western Arctic coast. Many fishing ports are located on the coasts of the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas in the south; Astrakhan' is a notable fishing port near the Caspian Sea.
About 60 percent of the Russian fish catch is taken from the Pacific Ocean and its marginal seas, including the Bering Sea. Vladivostok is by far the largest fishing port and fish-processing center of the Pacific region; many other fishing ports are scattered along the mainland coast as well as on Sakhalin Island. Because of its cold waters, the Sea of Okhotsk is one of the richest of Russian fishing grounds. It is especially known for salmon, but the Kamchatka crab is also world renowned. Other common species taken in the Pacific include herring, flounder, smelt, mackerel, and cod, as well as the marine mammals-walrus and seal.
During the mid-1980s the USSR was the world leader in whaling. Although Soviet commercial whaling in the North Pacific ceased in 1979, whaling continued in the seas surrounding Antarctica. In Russia, whaling flotillas were based primarily in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. The USSR formally ended all commercial whaling activities in 1988.