IV Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia 2021 were held on 8–10 September in St Petersburg at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, making it the first major offline fishery event of international scale in Russia and worldwide since the start of the pandemic.

The business programme covered all key industry issues: catch and processing, design and construction of the fishing fleet, logistics, including organization of a continuous cold chain, aquaculture, fostering a new generation of Russian fish consumers, entering new markets and developing international cooperation, human resources and scientific support for the industry. The business programme included a total of 24 events.

Challenges for the industry and prospects for its further development in the global context topped the agenda for the Forum's plenary session.

Speaking at the Forum, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev pointed out Russia’s significant contribution to the global catch and global food security. The fisheries complex continues to work uninterruptedly under the new realities, supplying the domestic market and ensuring the country's potential for foreign trade. According to estimates by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, this year's catch of aquatic bioresources will remain at 5 m tonnes, and aquaculture will reach 360,000 tonnes against 328,000 tonnes in 2020.

Efforts to enhance state support measures contribute to comprehensive development of the industry. “We plan to provide fuel subsidies to fishermen fishing in remote areas starting next year in order to increase production volumes. Also, amendments to the Tax Code have been drafted to stimulate production of output with a high added value. And to support sales, it has been decided to subsidise domestic shipments of fish and fish products from the Far East”, Patrushev said.

For his part, Ilya Shestakov, Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, said Russia was able to cope with the global challenges posed by the pandemic largely due to the fact that its fisheries industry had entered into a period of investment development and thanks to the changes that had taken place in the sector.

In particular, the top priority is to develop fish processing and the fisheries infrastructure. To this end, an ambitious programme has been launched to raise private investment through allocation of fishing quotas for aquatic bioresources. Over the past two years, 20 processing plants have been commissioned and the first factory ships are ready to go to sea. “Using investment quotas, at least 55 fishing vessels and 24 onshore factories will be built in our country in the coming years. And by 2030, the share of highly processed products will climb to 80% from the current 25%”, Shestakov reported.

Dmitry Patrushev specifically referred to exports of fish products. In 2020, it proved possible to increase deliveries by 135,000 tonnes. At the same time, restrictions imposed by China have prompted a search for new markets. In particular, significant volumes have been redirected to South Korea, Japan and EU countries. Over the past four years, a total of 20 markets have been opened up for Russian fish products (23 species).

Andrey Yatskin, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Federation Council, stressed that scaling up the fisheries resource base, renewing the fishing fleet and strengthening research capacity were also high priorities for the industry today. Speaking about international co-operation, he highlighted the importance of combatting IUU fishing and urged foreign participants and partners to do their best in this respect by joining efforts to curb illegal catches of bioresources, including use of vessels flying 'flags of convenience', as well as unfair competition.

The Forum programme focused particularly on aquaculture: its potential as a driver of the industry’s development was discussed at a high-level international conference, and the practical aspects of organising efficient fish farming were examined at a roundtable attended by representatives of professional associations, Russian and foreign businesses.

The head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries pointed out that aquaculture in Russia had entered a phase of explosive growth. “Over the last six years, the volume of aquaculture production in our country has doubled”, he said. “And now aquaculture is the fastest growing segment of the agricultural sector. In 2020, production increased by 14% and, in the first half of 2021, it has already risen by more than 20%”, Shestakov added.

Currently, fish farming in Russia is growing mainly owing to industrial salmon farming. In five years, its volume has almost tripled and its share in the overall production structure has topped 30%, making possible large-scale import substitution. Other strategic areas include mariculture and sturgeon farming. For example, in the first half of 2021, sturgeon production in Russia increased by 28%, reaching 3,600 tonnes.

By 2030, Russia’s total aquaculture production is projected to reach at least 620,000 tonnes. In developing this branch, emphasis will be placed on providing the sector with its own biotechnology, including planting material, as well as qualified personnel. Particular attention will be paid to environmentally friendly production and product safety.

On the side-lines of the Forum and Exhibition, the head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries held talks with the leaders of the delegations from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Turkey and Bulgaria, and, during the meeting with Mozambique, it was decided to draw up a Memorandum of Understanding on developing cooperation in fisheries. Ten significant agreements and memoranda were concluded with regard to business, scientific and information cooperation between industry actors. Ilya Shestakov also awarded the winners of the qualifying competition for the finals of Young Professionals Championship (WorldSkills Russia) national championship in the fishery categories.

Compared to 2019, the Exhibition area has increased by 40% to 18,000 square metres, and the number of exhibitors has reached 400 companies. Their geographical reach has also expanded, with companies from 25 countries and 40 Russian regions presenting their products and services in 2021. The Retail Centre was open for two days, hosting over 750 rounds of talks between 60 suppliers and the management of 32 retail chains.

More than 7,000 people from 78 regions of Russia and 55 countries visited the Forum and Exhibition. Of the total number of participants, 46% were decision-makers such as company owners and top managers; more than a third of the audience visited the exhibition to look for business products or services.

All photo and video material, presentations from business events will be available on the official website seafoodexporussia.com.

Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia are major, international-scale industry events. They are held annually, combining all areas of the fisheries sector, from catching to processing and delivering fish and seafood products to consumers, including the logistics chain and services, as well as aqua- and mariculture. The event is organised by the Federal Agency for Fisheries with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, and is operated by Expo Solutions Group, a full-service exhibition company.

The partners include Rosselkhozbank (General Partner), Sberbank (Partner Bank), Norebo Holding (Business Partner), Sigma Marine Technology (Official Partner), Antey (Registration Zone Partner), FEST Group (Strategic Partner), Okeanrybflot (Business Programme Partner), United Shipbuilding Corporation (Partner) and Dobroflot Group (Partner).