Yakutia summer catch up 69% to 1,906 tonnes; aging refrigerated fleet cuts outbound shipments to 524 tonnes

The 2026 summer fishing season catch in Russia's Sakha (Yakutia) Republic rose sharply, but a severe shortage of refrigerated vessels for shipping commercial fish has become the main problem facing the local fishing industry. According to a Fishnews report on November 2, 2026, representatives of the republic's government agencies and fishing companies have held a meeting to review the results of the summer fishing season and proposed including funds in the republic budget for vessel repairs and outbound shipment of catch.

The 2026 summer fishing season involved 145 fishing teams and 468 fishermen, with a total catch of 1,906 tonnes, up 69% from the previous year. The best production performance came from the Bulunsky, Nizhnekolymsky, Allaikhovsky and Ust-Yansky districts.

The meeting also identified a number of systemic problems requiring urgent resolution, the most prominent being the shortage of refrigerated vessels for shipping commercial fish. According to the press service of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic Ministry of Agriculture and Food Policy, which spoke to Fishnews, the two specialized refrigerated vessels "Mikhail Marchikov" and "Magdeburg" were both built in 1990 and have never undergone major repairs; during the 2026 navigation season, only one was in normal operation, and refrigeration equipment wear exceeded 90%. In 2025, the 60 million rubles allocated in the republic budget for equipment replacement were cut during optimization, and no related funding has been allocated for 2026 and 2027.

As a result, total outbound shipments of commercial fish in the 2026 summer fishing season were 524 tonnes, compared with 800 tonnes in 2025. Not all of the catch from the Allaikhovsky district could be shipped out. In addition, the "Magdeburg" developed a hole in its hull while unloading in storm conditions in 2025, which also limited its participation in navigation.

Participants stressed that without major repairs or vessel replacement, outbound shipment of catch from the summer fishing season could effectively be interrupted starting next year, and this is the only source of income for residents of the Arctic region.

Mikhail Pogodayev, Deputy Minister of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic Ministry for Arctic Development and Affairs of the Peoples of the North, said that during preparations for the second reading of the republic budget, 80 million rubles for the repair needs of the two vessels and 38 million rubles for outbound shipment of catch had been included. In addition, about 100 million rubles a year has been allocated from the federal budget over the next three years for state support of the traditional economic activities of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, including the construction of local product procurement and production bases. Fishing companies have been asked to submit proposals for inclusion in the relevant state program measures.