The volume of Pacific salmon harvested off the coast of Kamchatka has reached the lowest level in the history of official observations during the current season. Following this sharp decline in catches, regional fishing enterprises are proposing to postpone the deadlines for mandatory payments for the use of commercial fishing grounds.
Industry data indicates that the expected pink salmon catch on the eastern coast of the peninsula will not exceed 15,000 tons. On the western coast, commercial fishing opened on July 11, but the yields from the initial weeks have been exceptionally low. Only 12 tons of pink salmon have been harvested in the West Kamchatka subzone, and 45 tons in the Kamchatka-Kuril area. Association Chairman Vladimir Galitsyn described these figures as the poorest performance on record for this time of year – noting that the statistics remain unprecedented in the history of data collection. A corresponding decline in harvest volumes has also been recorded in the sockeye salmon fishery.
The weak salmon runs are currently threatening the financial stability of the regional industry. By May of next year, companies are required to make an initial payment amounting to 40 percent of the total cost to renew their fishing ground allocations. For Kamchatka fishing enterprises, the total volume of these obligatory payments amounts to approximately 40 billion rubles.
Business representatives are insisting on the necessity to defer these financial contributions by at least one year, proposing that the payment schedule be tied to the conclusion of the fishing season. During a meeting of the Coordinating Council of Fishery Associations of the Far East, market participants highlighted that the working capital deficit resulting from the unsuccessful season poses a significant risk to enterprises across other areas of the macro-region.