Ivan Stupachenko

Contributing Editor reporting from Saint Petersburg, Russia

Ivan Stupachenko is a Russian freelance business writer reporting from St. Petersburg for Russian and international publications on various topics. He has been a print and an online journalist for 18 years at business newspaper Kommersant. Ivan also works as an editor for St. Petersburg Travel Guide and writer for Business St. Petersburg, the city’s biggest business publication

Published on
January 5, 2023

Akvaproduct, a salmon farm based in Russia’s Vologda region, is planning to launch operations at its recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) salmon smolt-rearing unit in late January. The hatchery and grow-out facility have been built to supply a nearby salmon RAS farm currently being built by the company.

According to the region’s government, which subsidized part of the hatchery and the farm, construction on the facilities began in

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Published on
December 30, 2022

As of 1 January, 2023, new rates for Russia's water biological resources (WBR) tax will come into force.

Tax rates for some species, especially commercial species, will significantly increase – with harvesters of corbicula and surf clams saying they will see tax increases of as much as 990 percent and 1,620 percent, respectively.

By upping the tax, the government hopes to raise more money for regional budgets and stimulate the output

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Published on
December 23, 2022

The Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo) is finalizing the distribution of total allowable catch (TAC) in 2023 for its fisheries, with slightly lower catch limits set compared to 2022.

The overall TAC across all species in 2023 is 3.2 million metric tons (MT), a 3 percent drop compared to 2022, with all key species seeing lower catch volumes.

The biggest decline in TAC is in Russia’s Far East, where almost 75 percent of

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Published on
December 5, 2022

Russian seafood companies are investing in apprenticeship and internship programs in response to facing a shortage of trained workers.

That deficit that stands to increase as the Russian government continues its renovation program for the country's seafood industry.

Russian fishing companies have been experiencing a lack of skilled workers for years. The deficit is across all levels of the profession, from deckhands to captains. The worker

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Published on
November 18, 2022

Murmansk, Russia-based Norebo is closing a deal to acquire shipbuilding holding company Pella amid problems Russian shipyards are having with building new fishing vessels.

Saint Petersburg, Russia-based Pella is a group of shipbuilding companies with two main production sites in the Leningrad Oblast region. The company is owned by Herbert Tsaturov, who holds 72 percent of Pella’s shares. The company builds a variety of

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Published on
November 17, 2022

Russian fishing companies are on track to have a solid pollock catch in 2022, as authorities attempt to boost domestic consumption – even though exports show no signs of dropping.

Russia’s pollock B season, which started on 15 October, is meeting high expectations thus far. According to data from the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries, the total pollock catch so far this year – including totals from

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Published on
November 10, 2022

The Russian State Duma has approved a draft of another round of its investment-quota program, taking another step toward its goal of transforming the country’s seafood industry through the redistribution of fishing rights.

The draft legislation, which has been forwarded to regional authorities for input, is designed to complete a state-initiated effort, begun in 2016, to renew the country’s fishing fleet and beef

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Published on
October 19, 2022

Russia is considering a ban on exports of salmon and salmon roe as a drop in catch compared to 2021 is driving up prices.

In September 2022, wholesale prices for humpback (pink) salmon increased by 28 percent compared to August, reaching RUB 320,000 (USD 5,135, EUR 5,207) per metric ton (MT). Chum salmon prices also increased, rising 22 percent over the previous month to RUB 440,000 (USD 7,060, EUR 7,167) per MT, Kommersant business reported

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Published on
October 14, 2022

Moscow, Russia-based Fishery Shipowners Association and NGO Industry Union of Social System Nutrition (IUSSN) have signed an agreement to provide seafood products to Russian schools.

At a signing ceremony held during the V Global Fishery Forum in late September 2022, FSA President Alexey Osintsev said that the two parties will cooperate to provide Russian schools with value-added seafood products – primarily pollock fillets and

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Published on
October 10, 2022

Moscow, Russia-based fishing conglomerate AFK Sistema has purchased a stake in two companies in Russia’s Far East, the company announced in a second-quarter  2022 report.

AFK Sistema has acquired a 75 percent stake in Kristall Fish and a 10 percent stake in Khangar, both located in the Kamchatka region of Russia, Interfax reported. Both companies primarily catch and process salmon. AFK Sistema representatives said the

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