Dozens of Kamchatka fishing vessels are working in the Sea of Okhotsk for pollock and herring. The main regional mining enterprises are Okeanrybflot JSC, the V.I. Lenin Fishing Collective Farm and the NOREBO Group companies, according to Rybak Kamchatka.
Recall that on January 1, the Okhotsk pollock campaign traditionally started. It is also the season of herring production.
“The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia has set the total allowable catch of Pacific herring in the Sea of Okhotsk at 349.4 thousand tons for 2025, and pollock at 1.1 million tons, 40% of which is accounted for by the fisheries complex of the Kamchatka Territory,” said Pavel Buryak, a researcher at the fisheries department of the Ministry of Fisheries of the Kamchatka Territory.
Kamchatka fishermen are expected to catch about 800 thousand tons of whitefish during the winter and spring season of the Pollock putina.
Every year during this period, about 100 large- and medium-tonnage vessels are involved in fishing in the Sea of Okhotsk. A significant part of the fleet belongs to Kamchatka companies.
So, Okeanrybflot uses 14 trawlers and 4 transport vessels in the fishery. And that’s almost fifteen hundred fishermen.
“Winter fishing is the most responsible. Cold, ice, and short daylight hours require skill and endurance. But I am confident in our team and I thank every fisherman for their hard work and contribution to the common cause,” said Evgeny Novoselov, CEO of Okeanrybflot.
Industry science positively assesses the prospects of pollock fishing in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2025. The situation with pollock in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk is quite stable, the stock level is above average.
According to the industry monitoring system of Rosrybolovstvo, since the beginning of 2025, the catch of all Russian users has amounted to 58.6 thousand tons of aquatic biological resources, while the Far Eastern basin accounts for 54.1 thousand tons (+6.3 thousand tons compared to the level of 2024).
By the end of 2024, Russian fishermen have provided an increase in the catch of pollock and Pacific herring. As of December 23 last year, pollock catch increased by 2% to 1.91 million tons, and herring — by 13% to 435.1 thousand tons.