Commercial fishing is banned across much of the Arctic under the agreement signed in Greenland in 2018, closing access to a vast area of the sea that is opening up under climate change. However, Russia possesses a significant Exclusive Economic Zone prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (UNCLOS) over which the country has special rights regarding the exploration and use of resources. This area extends 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline, including the continental shelf.
Western sectoral sanctions have dramatically impacted the political economy in Russia. As a result, the country has shifted towards greater reliance on domestic resources, including fish stocks. Large Far Eastern fishing companies form a core of Russian producers of wild fish and invertebrates but the Russian Arctic still remains largely unexplored. According to Russia’s plans for the multifaceted development of its northern territories, the Arctic is expected to become Russia’s leading strategic resource base, including the harvest of marine living resources.
Russia has access to three of the worlds largest oceans – the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Pacific. The importance of the Barents fisheries sector in the economic development of the country cannot be underrated. However, the Arctic region, including the Kara, Laptev, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas, boasts enormous natural resources such as fish, oil, gas and minerals.
According to Russia’s Arctic strategy through 2035,) there are four major directions in the development of the national fisheries sector:
— obtaining catches based on scientific advice, and strengthening scientific exploration of the high seas;
— protection of traditional fisheries;
— implementation of policies for sustainable fisheries management to increase economic efficiency;
— international cooperation with the Arctic and non-Arctic fishing nations.
The future for fisheries in the Russian Arctic sounds promising. According to Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishery, the potential of the fishing industry in Russia is estimated at 2 trillion rubles (approx. US$30 billion).)
Recent scientific expeditions in the high seas of Russia have provided new data on changes in northern ecosystems. Pollock, or ubiquitous whitefish, is a common species in the Bering Sea, however it has been migrating north over the past few years. The U.S.-Russia survey has indicated a northward shift in young and adult pollock distribution in the northern waters.)
According to a report by the Russian Federal Research Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography, this species is currently found in the Chukchi Sea. Using acoustic data, researchers described the abundance and biomass of pollock within the survey area as about 398 thousand tons, and polar cod – 206 thousand tons.)
Based on these scientific data, Russian fisheries companies have planned to increase regional economic activities, including a pollock harvest, north of the Bering Strait on a regular basis in the nearest future.)
Also, the southern part of the Chukchi Sea is considered to become a new area for commercial harvesting of a snow crab (also known as opilio crab) due to shifts in stocks caused by climate change. This species appeared to be dominant in catches during the research cruise in the Russian high seas in
2019.
In general, three stocks – snow crab, Arctic cod and saffron cod are considered to be sufficient in size to be harvested commercially in the Chukchi Sea.) The emergence of commercially exploited fish species in the Chukchi Sea and the Laptev Sea is especially important. For example, pollock, blue catfish, black halibut, and redfish were found in the Laptev Sea for the first time in 2019.) The Kara Sea is known by its major stocks of saffron cod and Arctic cod.
The Arctic Institute