Perspectives of the Development of the Fisheries Sector in the Russian Arctic

A view towards the port of Murmansk, Russia. Photo: Ekaterina Uryupova

Commercial fishing is banned across much of the Arctic under the agreement signed in Greenland in 2018, closing access to a vast area of the sea that is opening up under climate change. However, Russia possesses a significant Exclusive Economic Zone prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (UNCLOS) over which the country has special rights regarding the exploration and use of resources. This area extends 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline, including the continental shelf.

Western sectoral sanctions have dramatically impacted the political economy in Russia. As a result, the country has shifted towards greater reliance on domestic resources, including fish stocks. Large Far Eastern fishing companies form a core of Russian producers of wild fish and invertebrates but the Russian Arctic still remains largely unexplored. According to Russia’s plans for the multifaceted development of its northern territories, the Arctic is expected to become Russia’s leading strategic resource base, including the harvest of marine living resources.

Fisheries in the Russian High Seas

Russia has access to three of the worlds largest oceans – the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Pacific. The importance of the Barents fisheries sector in the economic development of the country cannot be underrated. However, the Arctic region, including the Kara, Laptev, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas, boasts enormous natural resources such as fish, oil, gas and minerals.

According to Russia’s Arctic strategy through 2035,¹⁾Russia’s Arctic Strategy through 2035 (2020). [О Стратегии развития Арктической Зоны Российской Федерации и обеспечения национальной безопасности на период до 2035 года. Указ Президента Российской Федерации.] Retrieved December 16, 2020, from http://static.kremlin.ru/media/events/files/ru/J8FhckYOPAQQfxN6Xlt6ti6XzpTVAvQy.pdf there are four major directions in the development of the national fisheries sector:

• obtaining catches based on scientific advice, and strengthening scientific exploration of the high seas;
• protection of traditional fisheries;
• implementation of policies for sustainable fisheries management to increase economic efficiency;
• international cooperation with the Arctic and non-Arctic fishing nations.

The future for fisheries in the Russian Arctic sounds promising. According to Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishery, the potential of the fishing industry in Russia is estimated at 2 trillion rubles (approx. US$30 billion).²⁾SeaFoodSource (2019). Russia considers allowing foreign investments in fisheries. Retrieved 20 July, 2021, from https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/russia-considers-allowing-foreign-investments-in-fisheries Recent scientific expeditions in the high seas of Russia have provided new data on changes in northern ecosystems. Pollock, or ubiquitous whitefish, is a common species in the Bering Sea, however it has been migrating north over the past few years. The U.S.-Russia survey has indicated a northward shift in young and adult pollock distribution in the northern waters.³⁾NOAA Fisheries (2020). Study shows Pollock Stocks are Mixing more due to Changing Ocean Conditions and Weather Patterns. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/study-shows-pollock-stocks-are-mixing-more-due-changing-ocean-conditions-and-weather According to a report by the Russian Federal Research Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography, this species is currently found in the Chukchi Sea. Using acoustic data, researchers described the abundance and biomass of pollock within the survey area as about 398 thousand tons, and polar cod – 206 thousand tons.⁴⁾Orlov A.M. et al. (2019). Fisheries research in the Chukchi Sea at the RV «Professor Levanidov» in August 2019: some preliminary results. Trudy VNIRO. Vol. 178. P. 206–220 Based on these scientific data, Russian fisheries companies have planned to increase regional economic activities, including a pollock harvest, north of the Bering Strait on a regular basis in the nearest future.⁵⁾Rosen Y. (2020). Russia is poised to open the first-ever commercial pollock fishery in Chukchi Sea. ArcticToday, June 25, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.arctictoday.com/russia-is-poised-to-open-the-first-ever-commercial-pollock-fishery-in-chukchi-sea/ Also, the southern part of the Chukchi Sea is considered to become a new area for commercial harvesting of a snow crab (also known as opilio crab) due to shifts in stocks caused by climate change. This species appeared to be dominant in catches during the research cruise in the Russian high seas in 2019. In general, three stocks – snow crab, Arctic cod and saffron cod are considered to be sufficient in size to be harvested commercially in the Chukchi Sea.⁶⁾Hollowed, A.B., Sigler, M.F. (2012). Fish and Fisheries in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas: Projected Impacts of Climate Change. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 2 Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 17109 Point Lena Loop Road, Juneau, AK 99801 The emergence of commercially exploited fish species in the Chukchi Sea and the Laptev Sea is especially important. For example, pollock, blue catfish, black halibut, and redfish were found in the Laptev Sea for the first time in 2019.⁷⁾Russian Federal Research Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography (2019). The head of the Federal Agency for Fishery gave awards to the participants of the first Trans-Arctic scientific expedition. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from http://vniro.ru/en/news-archive/the-head-of-the-federal-agency-for-fishery-gave-awards-to-the-participants-of-the-first-transarctic-scientific-expedition The Kara Sea is known by its major stocks of saffron cod and Arctic cod.

Fisheries are one of the most important maritime activities in sub-Arctic areas, however the Arctic is rich in fish stocks as well. Shallow shelf areas (0-200 m) are significant fish habitat as the Arctic Ocean warms. Russia’s coastline accounts for 53% of the Arctic coastline with many islands, so there are enough shallow shelf areas for different fish species.The near shore area has been understudied in comparison to other parts of the Arctic Ocean, but it is considered as important for future fisheries activities. Sixteen nearshore species of fish from seven fish families were found during the research expedition near the Franz Josef Archipelago in 2013. A total of forty-three species were recorded in both near- and offshore areas of the archipelago. Among them are commercially important species such as Atlantic cod, capelin, beaked redfish.⁸⁾Chernova N.V, Friedlander A.M, Turchik A, Sala E. (2014) Franz Josef Land: extreme northern outpost for Arctic fishes. PeerJ. December 11. doi: 10.7717/peerj.692 Northern shrimp is harvested near Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea.

Prospects for fishing in the Arctic seas are huge. Among the priority species for fishing companies are Arctic cod, pollock, crabs, and northern shrimp. As expected, to start new fishing activity in the high seas areas will require to continue collecting field data, and the research exploration is already happening there. Arctic marine fishes are indispensable to ecosystem structuring and functioning, but they are still beyond credible assessment due to lack of basic biological data.

Fishing Fleet: Looking into the Future with Optimism

Russia’s fishing fleet currently stands at 1500 vessels, most of which operate in the Far Eastern Region (The Pacific).⁹⁾RBK Plus. Kak postroit’ novyy rybolovetskii flot. Retrieved December 22, 2020, from https://plus.rbc.ru/news/5f6478a87a8aa9450390f8b7 The Soviet Union constructed a giant fleet, most of it is still operational. However, the average fishing fleet age in Russia is about 40 years old, so ships cannot be used effectively any more. Therefore, the Russian government stimulates construction of new ships at national shipyards, while giving those companies extra fishing quotas (approx. 20% of all the state’s fishing quotas). According to the state’s program, more than 40 shipbuilding contracts for 166 billion rubles (approx. US$2 billion) had been signed by 2020. Additionally, more than 30 crab-fishing boats are scheduled to be built in the near future,¹⁰⁾Kommersant (2020). Rybolovnyy oplot. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4207628 and the first ones are either under construction or in the planning stage.¹¹⁾PortNews. Steel cutting starts for Russian Crab Group’s first crab-processing vessel. Retrieved 01 February, 2021, from https://en.portnews.ru/news/308216/

Among other priorities, Russia focuses on solving the problems of IUU (illegal, unaccountable and uncontrolled) fishing in the Arctic zone. New technologies are utilized to contribute to the safe passage of the Northern Sea Route by ships and slow down/stop the depletion of living resources. For example, neural networks (like those used for Global Fishing Watch in other countries) are considered as high-potential in Russian waters as well.¹²⁾Kostromin N., Sivova A. Prospects for using neural networks to solve the problems of IUU-fishing and piracy in the Arctic zone of Russia / N. Kostromin, A. Sivova // Russian Arctic. – 2020. – No. 11. – P. 24 – 30. Retrieved January 17, 2021, from https://en.russian-arctic.info/info/articles/oceanology/prospects-for-using-neural-networks-to-solve-the-problems-of-iuu-fishing-and-piracy-in-the-arctic-zo/ Artificial intelligence applications for the needs of Arctic waters are expected to contribute to safe navigation along the Northern Sea Route, and potentially slow down/stop the depletion of biological resources in the area in the future.

Russian Arctic: 200 Nautical Miles from the Shore and Beyond?

Russia has a number of archipelagos and islands scattered across the Arctic Ocean. Most of them are included in FAO Major Fishing Area 18 (the Arctic Ocean), although there are few Russian islands located in the Atlantic Fishing Area 27 as well (Severnaya Zemlya, New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island).¹³⁾FAO Major Fishing Areas (2020). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/area/search A deal to place the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) off-limits to commercial fishers postpone the immediate pressure on the environment and it gives scientists more time to estimate biological resources and understand the potential impacts of climate change. The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA) will protect international waters in the Arctic, but it has no power over the national exclusive economic zones (according the UNCLOS). Those 200 nautical miles of homeland resources appear to be a massive area meaning a lot for the development of Russia. What would the implications be if UNCLOS approved Russia’s claim to part of the sea bottom beyond its uncontested 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Arctic? In this case, Russia would obtain over 1.2 million square kilometers of the Arctic sea shelf and more than 150 additional nautical miles to the north from the EEZ. Fisheries in these waters would only be limited by international treaty, and exploration and exploitation of mineral resources on and below the seabed in these areas is administered by the UN International Seabed Authority. The decision made by the UNCLOS might become a tipping point not only for fishing nations. Among possible implications for international relations: nations may be involved in further tensions on fishing management in the Arctic region.

Fisheries Management and National Security

The northern fish stocks are important for Russia because of the need to supply domestic markets. The Western economic sanctions have significantly undermined previously well-established trade connections with other fishing nations. Development of the national fisheries sector in the Far East and the Arctic and the access to the waters rich in fish advances the country’s food security. Also, fishing in internal waters allows avoiding to fulfil international food quality requirements, sustainability certifications, and trade policies. At the same time, physical availability of natural resources does not put the country’s financial leverage at risk in the long run. Economy and food security in the fisheries sector seem to be interlinked elements. The latest plays a critical role in supporting productivity and social stability. Being under Western economic sanctions, Russia is trying to rely on domestic resources and planning to successfully operate a fisheries management framework in the Arctic seas in the future.