Russia’s fishing industry struggling under debt, decreasing profitability; government likely to help large pollock producers

Russian fishing companies are facing mounting debt and shrinking profits in the aftermath of sweeping trade sanctions imposed on the sector in reaction to the country's ongoing war in Ukraine.

The industry's overall accounts payable exceeded RUB 140 billion (€1.6 billion/$1.7 billion) last year, according to Russia’s Pollock Catchers Association (PCA) data revealed at the recent "Fishing Industry of the Far East" forum in Vladivostok.

At the same time, the total profit of the fishing industry amounted to only RUB 117 billion (€1.3