Russian pollock harvesters dramatically shifted production away from from fillet blocks in the year's first harvesting season, a step back from the industry's plans to move deeper into value-added productions.
Russia completed the first season -- called the "A" season -- on April 10, with an overall catch across the Far East Fishing Basin of 967,000 metric tons, a 10 percent rise over last year, according to Russia’s Pollock Catchers Association (PCA).
In the country’s main fishing ground, the Sea of Okhotsk, pollock harvests reached 804,300 metric tons, up 2 percent from last year, or 90 percent of the total allowable catch (TAC) in the fishing area.
