Russian Pollock Catchers Association: About 80% of Russia's Pollock Catch Now MSC-Certified

On October 30, Alexey Buglak, president of the Russian Pollock Catchers Association (АДМ), presented the current state and outlook of Russia's pollock fishery and the industry's work on sustainable fishing at the "Fish for Future" forum held in Qingdao. The forum is an annual industry conference held during China Fisheries & Seafood Expo, co-hosted by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA), focusing on sustainable fisheries, marine resource conservation and "blue economy" development. About 200 delegates attended, including representatives of fishing companies, processors, major retailers, NGOs and government agencies.

Buglak said pollock is Russia's main harvested fish species, accounting for more than 46% of the country's total catch. Russia's pollock catch rose 9% in 2025 to 2.175 million tonnes. Fishing takes place in 13 areas of the Russian Far East, with the main shares coming from the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, while the share of other fishing areas has also been increasing in recent years. He expects the total catch in 2026 to be about 2.2 million tonnes, corresponding to a utilization rate of 91% of the total allowable catch (ОДУ).

According to the association's press service, which informed Fishnews, 87% of the 2025 pollock catch was processed at sea and the remaining 13% at onshore enterprises, producing more than 1.2 million tonnes of fish products in total. Buglak also noted that natural cyclical fluctuations in the resource will lead to a decline in catches in the coming years. Citing industry scientific research data, he said that due to weak recruitment, spawning biomass in the main fishing areas is expected to fall to the multi-year average level, and by 2030 the catch will drop to 1.9 million tonnes, which matches the average catch of the past 40 years.

On ecological certification, Buglak said about 80% of the pollock catch currently holds MSC certification. The Sea of Okhotsk fishing area — the largest and most symbolic — was certified in 2013; several fishing areas, including East Sakhalin, East Kamchatka and the western Bering Sea, obtained MSC certificates in 2021. The certification process was accompanied by numerous improvements in fishing operations. Buglak listed as one of the most important achievements the introduction of a large-scale catch monitoring program involving scientific observers, with the participation of industry research institutions; a series of unique at-sea studies were also carried out to assess the impact of trawl pollock fishing on seabirds and marine mammals. He stressed that obtaining MSC certificates not only drove improvements in fishing practices but also had a global impact on the competitiveness of Russian pollock in the global market.

According to the association's assessment, over the long term Russia's pollock exports in live weight remain stable at about 1.5 million tonnes. Buglak said the natural benefits of pollock, sustainable fishing methods and strict quality standards enable Russian pollock to maintain a strong position in the global market. However, the share of exported products in total catch will decline in favor of the domestic market. Before 2020, more than 90% of the pollock catch was sold abroad; today that figure is 70%.

According to the General Administration of Customs' December 2025 import and export statistics, under the HS codes 03036700 frozen pollock, 03047500 frozen pollock fillets and 03049400 frozen pollock meat, Russia exported 161.772 tonnes of pollock to China that month, with an export value of USD 407,031.0 and an average export price of USD 2,516.08 per tonne.