Russia's Caspian Sea anchovy catch increasing

Efforts by the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) to increase the catch of anchovy in the Caspian Sea appear to be paying off, as the country’s catch has been beating expectations.

Through 4 May, 18,000 metric tons (MT) of anchovy have caught – ahead of the 2021 results, when 32,500 MT was harvested through the whole year. The 2021 number was nine times higher than the catch in 2019, when commercial fishing of the species resumed in the Caspian Sea for the first time in decades.

Commercial fishing of anchovy was banned in the sea for 20 years to rejuvenate the stock. Now, with the resumption of fishing, companies are finding increasing catches, and 2022 is expected to surpass the catch total from 2021. The recommended catch in 2021 was nearly 100,000 MT – meaning there is still room for companies to catch more.

Russian aquaculture firms are also eager to see a larger domestic anchovy catch, as they are facing difficulty sourcing aquafeed due to international sanctions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 2020, VNIRO was tasked by the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries with conducting research of the Caspain Sea anchovy fishery. VNIRO identified specific areas of the sea suitable for the resumption of fishing activities - specifically, the western part of the middle Caspian, which it said contained sardines in densities of 20 to 100 MT per square mile between September and March. 

VNIRO also designed and tested new fishing methods to reduce impact on the fishery. According to a VNIRO report, productivity per ship has also increased thanks to these methods. 

The catch of Caspian anchovy has also increased thanks to additional fishing effort. Only three ships were fishing anchovy in 2020, but that total reached 16 vessels in 2021 and increased to 20 in 2022 – a number VNIRO has deemed optimal for the current state of the stock.

VNIRO said it will continue working to help companies reach a total catch of 100,000 MT of the species per year by researching methods and optimal concentrations of the species. Current stocks of Caspian anchovy are expected to increase to 520,300 MT in 2023, up from an estimate of 493,500 MT in 2022.  

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