Russian fishermen accused of exporting poached products to the US

The $466.2 million worth of seafood exported by Russian fishermen to the United States in 2022 may have come from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, i.e. poaching. Such conclusions are contained in a study by the American environmental organization Oceana, which specializes in the preservation of the world’s oceans. The report was published on March 28, 2023.

According to the study, until June 23, 2022, when supplies from Russia to the United States of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other products of the fishing industry were banned, Russian fishermen exported 24,000 tons worth $900 million to the States. At the same time, only 48.19% from the volume passed through the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), a system for traceability of imported fish, requiring data to be provided from the place of catch to delivery to the US market. Based on this, Oceana analysts conclude that these products could have been obtained as a result of illegal fishing.

Russian fishermen doubt the adequacy of the study. The President of the Association of Fishing Fleet Owners (ASRF, unites the structure of the Russian Fishery Company, Russian Crab, Norebo Group of Companies, etc.) Aleksey Osintsev points out that in the Oceana study, shipments through third countries are practically classified as illegal catch. “But the export of Russian fish products to the United States has always been carried out in this way, and especially after the self-closure of the American market for Russian fishermen,” he says.

The key international body designed to monitor compliance with the Code of Responsible Fisheries is the UN International Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO, says German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Industry (VARPE). FAO maintains an index indicating the average level of compliance with the requirements of international documents in the field of combating IUU fishing. According to Zverev, the highest score in the index is 5, and Russia has it.

Osintsev adds that all Russian fishing vessels are equipped with tracking systems, and for export deliveries, certificates of origin of fish products are provided, electronic veterinary accompanying documentation is issued, which guarantees the exclusion of unaccounted for fish products.

In the US, such reports are often used to fight for sales markets, including to create a negative background around competitors in export markets, says Alexei Buglak, President of the Pollack Miners Association (ADM). He recalls that Russia and the United States are the main suppliers of pollock: American fishermen in 2023 will be able to catch 1.475 million tons of this fish, Russian fishermen – 2.06 million tons. At the same time, an audit of the Russian pollock fishery in the Bering Sea is scheduled for early April 2023 for compliance with the requirements of international environmental certification MSC. Without this, deliveries to the EU will be impossible, says Buglak.

The release of the Oceana report is clearly commercial lobbying and aimed at undermining the reputation of Russian fish products on the European market, Zverev said. He points out that the 2022 results show that fair ways to compete are not helping American fishermen. According to the WARPE, last year the total export of Russian fish products to the EU countries increased by 57.6% to €940 million. At the end of 2022, Russia overtook the United States in exports of pollock fillets – 117,000 tons against 84,000 tons, according to ADM data.

A representative of the Federal Agency for Fishery said that the absence of some Russian fish products in the traceability system used by the United States is not grounds for speculation about IUU fishing. The interlocutor added that Russia has created one of the most effective mechanisms for monitoring the activities of fishing vessels, including through interstate cooperation.