Crab fishing companies deployed 16 ships in the Far East Basin

By mid-March 2023, the fishermen of Primorsky Krai have mastered 15% of ‘crab catch quotas’

Primorsky Krai based fishing companies have harvested more than 5 000 tonnes of crab from the beginning of 2023 to mid-March. As of now 16 crab fishing vessels are operating in the Far East basin, the regional government press office said.

The head of the Russian region fishing agency Valery Korko has said the volume of crab catch quotas for Primorksy Krai fishermen is 35 800 tonnes. “As of March 15, fishing enterprises of the region have caught 5 500 tonnes of crabs, or 1 300 tonnes more than a year earlier. Catch quotas have been used by 15%,” he was quoted as saying.

The official added that at the moment “there are ten vessels in the Sea of Japan harvesting snow crab, brown king and horsehair crab, four vessels in the Bering Sea catching snow crab and blue king crab, and two boats harvesting golden king crab in the Sea of Okhotsk”.

IAA PortNews has previously reported that on April 10, 2023, Oleg Kozhemyako, the Primorsky Krai Governor, asked at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to maintain preferences at Far Eastern shipyards for the construction of crab catchers, which were launched as part of the investment quota program Phase 3.

The fishing enterprises of Primorsky Krai have placed orders with Russian shipyards for construction of 19 crab catching boats worth RUB 41 billion under the investment quota program.