Environmental expert Yuri Korobov is convinced that Russia has great potential for the development of the fishing industry
In the spring of 2022, Japan unilaterally renegotiated the increase in coverage with the Russian Federation as part of an agreement to “postpone” the sovereignty issue of the four northern islands of the South Kuril Group.
Russia took retaliatory measures, which we invited an environmental expert, coordinator of special projects of the economic environmental corps, member of the Russian Geographical Society, Arctic explorer, chairman of the board of directors of JSC Berega, to comment on. Yuri Korobov.
Yuri Anatolyevich, do you think that the current situation turned out to be in a political or economic situation?
Out of politics
This question, I think, has already been answered by representatives of our Foreign Ministry – in the case of using the economic question: the partners refused to fulfill their obligations and Russia reacted accordingly. Let me remind you that we are talking about mutual obligations assumed by countries within the framework of an agreement on safety fisheries. This is one of the four components of a large package of Russian-Japanese fishing agreements. Japan, in response, undertook to calculate certain amounts depending on the amount of thermal addiction consumed in Russia. The purely economic arrangements that are being made are that coverage does not affect political action and views.
Well thank you. How can this be useful for Russian fisheries?
(photo: AO Berega)
It is obvious that the fishermen of the Hokkaido islands, going to the “northern territories”, with the suspension of the group’s activities, have lost their fishing in territories rich in fish and seafood. By the way, the Japanese government, in accordance with this territory of water, considers and considers fishing here as an activity useful for the interests of the country. Therefore, Japanese fishermen, mastering our water, receive support from their state, including state subsidies. I believe that in this matter the subtle policy of the Japanese appointment was calculated on the fact that “safe fishing” in the waters of the South Kuriles would serve as a kind of “stepping stone” for Japan, a small intermediate victory on the way to the final resolution of problems with Russia. That is, fishing here was carried out on a full footing, with aspiration to the future. Guess we should keep the level hired on the territory of those Japanese. Naturally, the circumstances of the fishery, available in kind, were lucky.
That is, will there be a type of import substitution?
Kind of, maybe. The fact is that, as it seems to me, it is not necessary to focus only on a momentary situation, the liberation of a niche, as they say. We have long pointed to our potential in our fishing industry. In the middle of the twentieth century, the volume of fisheries in our country was almost 14 million tons – the Soviet Union then ranked first in the world in this indicator. The annual volume of fishing is about 5 million tons. However, technology does not stand still. That is, with the advent of the last century, we had to have at least growth rates, as a maximum, of course, growth. Therefore, I would say that we should not talk about import substitution, but about revising statistical views on quality.
Available inaccessible fish
On this topic
1819
According to the intelligence communities, Russia can switch the compressor in three directions, including in Crimea and from Belarus.
Yuri Anatolyevich, perhaps more about this, what do you mean?
The country’s fishing industry has gone through a deep crisis. After the collapse of the USSR, the state ceased to be preserved. The fleet has fallen into disrepair. In 2004, the extraction of aquatic biological resources reached a historical minimum – less than 3 million tons were caught. We are the richest country in the world in terms of the number of lakes, seas and rivers. But our consumption of fish and fish products is very low – only 13 kilograms per capita per year. At the same time, the medical norm is 21 kilograms per year, and the average level of consumption in countries is 26.1 kilograms per year. Most of the fish, up to 90 kilograms per year, were turned by the Icelanders. The Japanese, by the way, consume up to 70 kilograms a year. It is well known that the abundance of seafood has beneficially changed both the health of the inhabitants and their longevity.
Accordingly, these indicators need to be increased?
That’s it! No one predicted or wanted to stop meeting the Japanese. Yes, we needed to think about the implementation of the consumption of fish products. But, in case of occurrence – you need to use it! This can be a great opportunity to develop domestic production and invest in the head fund of income and increase the amount of currency catch for the fish economy of our country.
It is also necessary to place them in domestic technologies – this is to provide jobs, which is extremely important always, and not only in the conditions of current premises. It is necessary to carry out complex work: to expand the assortment, to popularize the consumption of fish in the country. An important issue is the study of logistics. Prices for transporting fish to the center of the country should decrease. In the long term, this will positively affect the volume of exports of fish products to other countries.
So maybe Russia should generally strive to get away from such quotas, to extract everything on its own?
This is a question of the future. Ideally, I think so. But this will happen when we are able to fully use the volume of fish resources. After all, we live in a world where we are surrounded by many other states. Water bodies come from land phenomena, it comes from the system. We have to solve many issues together with foreign partners, including in the field of ecology, including population regulation.
It is not necessary, I believe, to be a dog in the manger: there is a surplus – transport. Naturally, not for nothing. But the problem is that Russian fishermen are already using catch-for-traffic to visit fishing opportunities. While domestic fish processing enterprises operating on imported raw materials. Again, it’s a matter of logistics. Our plants are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and fishing is carried out in the Far East. Why ship products across the country when they can be sold to Japanese or Chinese entrepreneurs?
Learn to consume
And what, finally, vicious circle?
In the end, we then sell the catch on the side, and abroad we buy canned food, crab sticks and other processed products. Even the import of chilled fish and seafood has been growing since the early 2000s. And we mainly buy the so-called aquaculture, that is, fish grown in artificial conditions, inferior in quality to “wild”. Farmed fish have a fatter habitat and a highly modified diet, and they have less valuable minerals such as calcium and iron, for example. Alas, today many Russians cannot even afford such a fish.
It is important not only to catch fish, but also to consume it. That is, we need domestic processing enterprises in stock. Otherwise, it will be like today: we catch a lot of fish – we eat little. Economy and ecology. Somewhere legislation is required. The introduction of some amendments, the coverage of the fishing industry, in regulation, would increase a significant increase in the volume of activities aimed at expanding and increasing Russian fish resources. In general, this is a concern not only for the natural resources of the Russian Federation, but also for the health of our entire planet.
From your words it follows that mining should be carried out deliberately?
Every case must be approached with thoughtfulness. External requirements in today’s situation are not limited to that, but also stimulate the adoption of measures to ensure Russia’s food security. Emphasis should be placed, first of all, on the restoration of the restoration of water resources. The reduction of quotas for other countries should be an impetus for the development of domestic fisheries and the development of the fishing industry as a whole, as one of the components of the food security of our country.
A thoughtless increase in fishing can be environmentally dangerous, because it is associated with a reduction in the stocks of commercial fish, to difficulties in replenishing their population. With a large consumption of a bioresource, it disappears without losing the diet. Zero-waste production is both the most environmentally friendly and the most efficient, because all parts of the fish are used, including for the production of animal feed.
Thank you, Yuri Anatolyevich, for a meaningful conversation. What did you say to famous readers in the end?
Dear readers, we advise everyone to consume fish and fish products. Hope they become more available soon. This applies to bioresources, which, with the proper approach, that is, reasonable consumption, can ensure the consumption of food and environmental security of our country and the entire planet, preserving the wealth of rivers and seas for subsequent consumption.