In Russia, the catch of salmon may fall and the price of fish of this breed may change — pink salmon, salmon, sockeye salmon and others. According to the new draft law of the Cabinet of Ministers, businesses will have to renegotiate contracts for the use of fishing grounds with Rosrybolovstvo by December 30, 2025 and pay a total of about 200 billion rubles for this. Otherwise, the plots will be put up for auction and companies may lose them. But the business doesn’t have that kind of money, industry representatives say. Rosrybolovstvo, on the contrary, is confident that the bill will allow responsible enterprises to have a long planning horizon and increase business responsibility. Meanwhile, the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian Policy, in its response to the bill, has already considered it appropriate to postpone the renegotiation of contracts to 2026. The State Duma is also ready to support the senators, where the governors of the fishing regions have appealed.
What factors can affect the increase in the cost of salmon
Salmon prices may rise in Russia. We are talking about the pink salmon that is most accessible to Russians today, as well as other species — sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, and chum salmon. The Association of Kamchatka Salmon Producers and the Association of Fishing Enterprises of the Sakhalin Region told Izvestia about this. The reason may be the adoption of a government bill that changes the conditions of salmon fishing in the country.
The government submitted the document to the State Duma on December 24, 2024, and Rosrybolovstvo acted as its developer. According to the draft law, all companies that produce salmon in Russia must renegotiate contracts for the use of fishing grounds by December 30, 2025. In the explanatory note to the document, budget revenues from this process are estimated at almost 200 billion rubles. However, according to industry representatives, they may not have the financial capacity to meet these requirements.
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There are 2,175 salmon fishing grounds in Russia, according to the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE). Their lease terms range from 10 to 25 years and in most cases expire in 2027-2028.
In order to enable companies to preserve these sites and the fishing infrastructure built during this time, a law was passed in Russia in 2023, according to which fishermen will be able to extend agreements on the use of sites without an auction if they are in good faith.
At the same time, they must fulfill a number of conditions:
- — pay a fee for the plot, which is calculated according to the formula approved by the government;
- — conclude an agreement on the socio-economic development of the region in which they work (for example, to build social infrastructure facilities at their own expense), and production control (protection of the site from poaching).
In 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced another bill proposing, regardless of the expiration of contracts, to set a single date for their renegotiation on December 30, 2025, and, accordingly, payment for them.
— The date of renegotiation of contracts this year, indicated in the draft law, unfortunately raises the question of the termination of the existence of a significant part of the companies of the Kamchatka Territory, which today is the leader in salmon production in the Russian Federation. We account for up to 80% of the catch,” the head of the Kamchatka Salmon Producers Association told Izvestia. Vladimir Galitsyn.
At the same time, according to him, the enterprises that have been operating in these areas for the last 20 years have invested hundreds of billions of rubles in infrastructure and achieved serious results that are higher today than in the USSR.
— However, today we are offered to extend the land plots for 20 years, and we have to pay for at least 40 years at double the coefficient. And if we take another 20%, which we also pay to the regional budget, then we have to pay the fee rate for 50 years in advance,” the business representative explained.
In his opinion, the situation may affect the reduction of catch and the increase in the cost of salmon.
— Most companies don’t have the money to pay for these contracts. Therefore, they will have to go to banks and take loans at the high rate that we see now. Obviously, this will affect the cost of fish, as fishermen will need to compensate for the costs,” said Vladimir Galitsyn.
This opinion is shared by Maxim Kozlov, President of the Association of Fishing Enterprises of the Sakhalin Region.
— For the Far East, the issue of finalizing the draft law is extremely important. Today, the formula for calculating the value of land plots is such that the catch for the last four years is considered. But 2021, 2022, and 2023 were the most catchy years in the history of salmon watching. But this is unlikely to happen again in the next 20 years, for which these agreements are planned to be concluded. Already in 2024, the catch amounted to about 235 thousand tons, while in 2023 it was more than 600 thousand tons,” he explained to Izvestia.
According to him, in order to find funds to renegotiate contracts, companies will have to apply for loans. But if there aren’t many fish, you won’t be able to repay the loans.
The difficulties are also confirmed by the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters.
— The main financial burden will fall on enterprises of the salmon sector, their payment is the highest, as salmon are valuable fish species. The total amount of fees for the use of these sites will amount to 198.76 billion rubles. Enterprises will be required to pay another 19.9 to 39.8 billion rubles under agreements on participation in the socio-economic development of the regions,” German Zverev, president of the association, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, taking into account the current payment procedure, companies are required to contribute 40% — 79.5 billion rubles — as early as 2025. At the same time, the industry is currently in a difficult financial situation: there is a decrease in profitability and a drop in revenue.
Rosrybolovstvo did not respond to Izvestia’s question about the revision of the deadline. At the same time, it was reported that the bill will allow responsible enterprises of the fisheries complex to have a long-term (for 20 years or more) the planning horizon will increase the responsibility of business through participation in activities for the conservation of aquatic biological resources, and will also allow the executive authorities of the coastal regions of the Russian Federation to continue consistent socio-economic development of their regions.
Izvestia sent a request to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to evaluate the proposals for finalizing the initiative.
Why some fishermen may leave the market
The concern of the industry is shared by the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy – the senators in their review propose to finalize the bill. They point out that, taking into account the projected increase in production costs and a decrease in the catch of Pacific salmon in 2025-2031, the gross profit of salmon sector enterprises will decrease.
Under these conditions, the norms of the draft law, when businessmen will have to pay 40% of the renegotiation fee as early as 2025, contain risks for the industry.
“Even with the more lenient conditions of payment for the use of fishing grounds in the first years of their use, the number of operating enterprises will decrease by 38%, to 60 companies, 30% of which will remain unprofitable,” the document emphasizes.
In this regard, the senators propose to postpone the start date of the contract renewal procedure to 2026 and finalize the bill.
Vladimir Kashin, head of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, told Izvestia that the deputies share the senators’ opinion and are on the side of the industry and consumers who will not support the increase in salmon prices.
“Our committee recommended it for adoption in the first reading, but, of course, we believe that by the second reading it is necessary to take into account the proposals of industry representatives in order not to aggravate the situation with the financial condition of mining companies, given the high key rate of the Central Bank,” the deputy explained to Izvestia.
The committee’s conclusion, which is available to Izvestia, states that the State Duma has received appeals from the governors of Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Primorsky Krai, Magadan Region, and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, which indicate high risks to the sustainability of fisheries enterprises and the fishing industry as a whole.
In this regard, the committee suggests considering the feasibility of changing the date of renewal of contracts to December 30, 2026. Other comments include unreasonable demands to withhold payment for the land if the contract is terminated prematurely at the initiative of a public authority.
Natalia Bashlykova (Izvestia)