Published on: 2026-09-18
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, during a working trip to Saint Petersburg, together with the city governor Alexander Beglov, took part in the ceremonial flag-raising on the supertrawler “Mechanic Shcherbakov,” and also spoke at the plenary session of the 9th International Fisheries Forum.
“Fleet renewal, the commissioning of each vessel is a consistent strengthening of Russia’s position as a fishing power. And it’s also new jobs, opportunities for the development of related industries and coastal regions. And of course, it is Russian fish, known and valued both in our country and far beyond its borders. Therefore, a systematic effort in building the fishing fleet will continue,” noted Dmitry Patrushev.
The super trawler “Mechanic Shcherbakov” was built as part of the investment quotas program. There will be a total of eight such large vessels, this is already the sixth. Each is capable of harvesting and processing up to 60 thousand tons of fish products annually, ensuring zero-waste production directly on board.
During his speech at the forum’s plenary session, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the development of the industry and outlined the tasks for the near future.
Dmitry Patrushev noted that in recent years the state, in partnership with business and science, has laid a solid foundation for the development of the fishing industry – the legislative framework has been improved, and a large-scale modernization of production capacities is underway.
“A modern fishing fleet is being built thanks to the investment quota program. Moreover, in the past three years, thanks to systematic control at the Government headquarters, we have been able to ensure a noticeable pace of transferring vessels from shipyards to customers. In 2023, we started with 11 units, and now the construction of 58 vessels has been completed. Another 64 units are in progress,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Currently, the catch of aquatic biological resources amounts to 3.5 million tons. According to forecasts by Rosrybolovstvo, this year the country is expected to achieve results comparable to last year’s level. This will fully supply the domestic market and cover all export obligations.
Nevertheless, it is important for the industry to increase its indicators. Dmitry Patrushev outlined the priority directions for this. First of all, to changes in the species composition of harvested aquatic biological resources, it is important to adapt the fleet and fishing gear, as well as to continue the development of operational forecasting and fishery exploration. Over five years, the Government of Russia allocated 33.5 billion rubles for various studies. The work includes the research fleet – currently there are 18 such vessels, and by 2028 two more are to be launched. Annually, the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography conducts about a thousand expeditions, thanks to which new fishing areas are opened to Russian fishermen.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the importance of implementing digital solutions – the fisheries complex needs a unified platform for collecting scientific and production data, forecasting, and balance analysis. Satellite and scientific monitoring data also play a special role. They allow us to see in advance the changes occurring in terms of species composition.
Speaking about artificial fish reproduction, Dmitry Patrushev noted that in 2025 more than 2 billion young aquatic biological resources were released into domestic water bodies. This includes a record figure in sturgeon reproduction – more than 52 million specimens.
The Deputy Prime Minister called the development of the fishing industry in water bodies covered by the national project “Environmental Well-being” a promising new direction for the industry. Rivers and lakes of Russia are a growth point for the industry. A successful example of such synergy was the reproduction of the omul population in Lake Baikal. In a few years, its stocks increased by one and a half times.
Separately, Dmitry Patrushev focused on the aquaculture segment, which helps to annually obtain a predictable volume of aquatic biological resources. By 2030, self-sufficiency in this area should be significantly increased. At the same time, the production of own feed for aquaculture is growing. Currently, there are about 30 plants operating in the country. Another approximately 20 are expected to appear by 2030.
In his speech, Dmitry Patrushev also spoke about the development of exports. Last year, about 2 million tons of fish and seafood were sent abroad. And since the beginning of this year – more than 1.5 million tons.
As part of his visit to the IX International Fisheries Forum and the exhibition of the fish industry, seafood, and technologies, Dmitry Patrushev inspected the booths of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Arkhangelsk region, and others.
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