At the second stage of auctions, crab fishing rights worth RUB 214.27 billion were sold.

The second stage of auctions for the sale of crab fishing quotas has been completed. As a result, 27 lots worth 214.27 billion rubles were sold, of which seven lots worth more than 57 billion rubles were auctioned. won the Russian Crab Group of Companies. As a result, the group’s share in resource extraction in the Far East will exceed 24%. Budget revenues from auctions were higher than during the first stage in 2019.

As part of the second stage of auctions for the sale of crab fishing quotas, 27 lots worth 214.27 billion rubles were sold, said the auction organizer, the Russian Auction House (RAD). According to the RAD, 160 applications were submitted to participate in the auction, and 13 companies became winners. According to the terms of the agreement, the company will begin fishing under quotas in 2024. The quota share is fixed for 15 years. The winners must build vessels in the Russian Federation for catching crabs over 50 m in length or logistics complexes, depending on the lot.

According to Kommersant’s calculations based on RAD data, structures of the Russian Crab Group of Companies won the bidding for seven lots worth 57.1 billion rubles. Based on calculations by the All-Russian Association of Fisheries (VARPE), the annual volume of crab production under these quotas may exceed 6.3 thousand tons. Four more lots worth 33.55 billion rubles. can acquire Ostrovnoy Krab LLC, controlled by DV Rybak Management Company, where 5% belongs to the Sberbank structure.

The production volume under these quotas is estimated at 3.66 thousand tons of crabs per year.

In addition, quotas can be received by Vostok LLC of Nikita Kozhemyaka, the son of the Governor of the Primorsky Territory Oleg Kozhemyaka, a structure of the Antey Group of Companies, and the North-Western Fishing Consortium. Also among the winners are Sever LLC, controlled by the owner of Sigma Marine Technology Maxim Petrushin, the Phoenix company, headed by the general director of the Okeanrybflot holding Evgeny Novoselov, Tikhrybkom, Amurrybprom, Kalan.

The Russian Crab Group of Companies told Kommersant that, taking into account the lots purchased at current auctions, the group’s share of quotas in the Far Eastern basin reached 24.1%, the catch of which is estimated at 18.3 thousand tons per year. The group has retained its status as the largest crab miner in the Far East, noted Russian Crab. Previously, the group’s share was 15.6% with a quota volume of 11.8 thousand tons.

VARPE President German Zverev noted that the results of the auctions correspond to economic realities.

The regulatory framework for crab auctions was developed in the spring, after which the ruble weakened significantly, and the government introduced emergency measures in the form of export duties on fish and seafood, says Mr. Zverev.

VARPE added that budget revenues from the auctions were higher than expected and exceeded the income from auctions in 2019, although only crab production quotas in the Far East were awarded. The Association of Fishing Fleet Shipowners (ASRF) noted that crabs remain a valuable resource that remains attractive to investors, taking into account all the risks and negative factors in the form of export duties, the embargo on seafood by the United States, as well as falling prices for crabs in China.

Anatoly Kostyrev