This year, 423 participants showcased their achievements, 73 more than last year. VIIGlobal Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia 2024 in St. Petersburg attracted 19,367 visitors. Guests came from 27 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, Turkey, and others. The business program discussed industry modernization, promising fishing directions, development of international cooperation, and the preparation of human resources.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev noted the rapid growth of the fishery complex. Russia is among the top five countries in terms of aquatic biological resource extraction. Over the past 10 years, the catch has increased by one million tons, reaching 5 million tons per year, and aquaculture production has doubled to 400,000 tons annually. This progress has been made possible through large-scale modernization: processing plants, modern vessels, and logistics complexes are being built under the investment quota program, which has no global equivalent.
"This tool allows us to modernize the fishing fleet, improve labor productivity, and increase the ecological and rational use of biological resources. As of today, 29 vessels have already been launched at sea under the investment quotas, and five more will be launched by the end of this year. But our plans are much more ambitious. Our key goal is to almost completely renew Russia’s fishing fleet," said Dmitry Patrushev.
Ilya Shestakov, Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, highlighted the work done in digitalizing the sector. Fishing permits are now issued electronically, and an electronic fishing journal integrated with the Mercury system is operational. Regulatory authorities can analyze fishing data in real-time online, and these services are continuously improving.
One of the priority tasks discussed by the participants of the International Fishery Forum was increasing domestic fish product consumption, a directive previously issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the Forum, domestic companies introduced new product types that have already attracted buyer interest. The business program participants also discussed areas requiring special attention.
"Diversification of fishing for companies and the processing of aquatic biological resources are very important. A significant area for us now is to explore new resources, including algae. We have agreed to develop a separate program for algae harvesting and processing with the involvement of experts from the cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields. We will create such a program to accelerate the development of this direction," said Ilya Shestakov.
Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia has traditionally been a focal point for leading industry experts and business representatives. Dozens of key speakers participated in the business program events. The agreements reached during the Forum will form the basis for further industry development efforts.