Russia to increase support for fisheries 24% to 40.2 bln rubles in 2025 - Rosrybolovstvo head

MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax) - Russia will increase funding for the fisheries sector by 24.1% to 40.2 billion rubles this year, the head of the Federal Fisheries Agency (Rosrybolovstvo), Ilya Shestakov said on Tuesday.

"More than 40.2 billion rubles in funds are earmarked for the Federal Fisheries Agency for 2025. More than 32.4 billion rubles was allocated in 2024," Shestakov said at the agency's annual board meeting.

So much funding has never been allocated for the sector before, he said, remarking that funding has increased significantly in recent years. The figure was 22.7 billion rubles in 2020 and about 16.1 billion rubles in 2015.

"The expenditures include subsidies for regions to support fishers in the Azov-Black Sea basin, budget investment in capital construction infrastructure, construction and reconstruction of fisheries infrastructure," Shestakov said.

"In addition, funds are being directed to support the work of institutions subordinate to the Fisheries Agency - artificial reproduction and conservation of aquatic bioresources, financing of fisheries science, repair of rescue vessels, acquisition of special equipment and other expenses," he said.

Recalling that Russia's fish catch fell 8% to about 4.9 million tonnes in 2024, he said the main reason was a weak Pacific salmon spawning season "due to natural factors."

"Nonetheless, we've set ourselves the bar of 5 million tonnes. We will strive toward it this year and in future," Shestakov said. However, he instructed experts to work with scientists at the VNIRO fisheries and oceanography research institute to conduct a careful analysis of the effectiveness of forecasts and organization of the fishery.

He also said per capita fish consumption in Russia rose by 1 kg to 23.5 kg in 2024.