Share of fish products with high added value in Russia will increase to 50% by 2030 - Fisheries Agency head

MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - The share of fish products with high added value will increase to 50% by 2030, up from the current 32.5%, the head of the Federal Fisheries Agency (Rosrybolovstvo) Ilya Shestakov said.

"Over the past few years, the production of high-value-added products has grown from 15% to 32.5%. The goal by 2030 is to increase this to 50%," Shestakov said during parliamentary hearings in the State Duma dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the law on fisheries and conservation of aquatic biological resources.

This goal is largely achievable through the implementation of the investment quotas program, under which modern fishing vessels and processing plants are being built, he said.

"New-generation vessels are being built - super-efficient ones, and most importantly, environmentally friendly and reliable ones. They are capable of processing 100% of the catch onboard and producing up to 60,000 tonnes of finished products per year," he said. "By the end of the reform, we plan to renew 80% of production capacities in the main fishery basins and create modern industry infrastructure," he said.

The investment quotas program was approved in 2016. Fishermen are granted the right to harvest certain volumes of aquatic biological resources for 15 years, with an obligation to invest in the industry.