Far Eastern Salmon Producer Halts Exports After Weak 2026 Catch

Company reserves available output for Russia

The Far Eastern Fishery Management Company, known by its Russian acronym DRUK, has decided to stop exporting red fish and roe and direct all available output to buyers in Russia. The decision follows restrictions on catches during a difficult 2026 Pacific salmon fishing season.

Ilya Shestakov, head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishery, announced the move at the International Fishery Forum and Seafood Expo in St. Petersburg. According to Mosregtoday, Shestakov said the company wanted to preserve the availability of its products for Russian consumers. Agrotime reported that abandoning foreign deliveries should increase the volume remaining on the domestic market.

The available reports do not disclose how much salmon or roe DRUK normally produces or exports, which countries receive its shipments, or how long the suspension will remain in place. The decision therefore cannot be quantified in terms of lost export volume or additional domestic supply. It nevertheless gives Russian buyers priority over foreign customers while catches remain constrained.

Pacific salmon catch trails expectations

Agrotime described the 2026 salmon season as weaker than expected both in catch volumes and in the timing of fish arrivals. Citing earlier information from the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, or VNIRO, the publication said the Pacific salmon catch stood at about 97,000 tonnes, compared with an expected 227,000 tonnes.

That leaves the reported catch roughly 130,000 tonnes below the expectation cited by VNIRO. The figures describe the wider Pacific salmon fishery rather than DRUK’s individual production, but they explain the limited resource base behind the company’s decision. When fewer fish are available, processors and sellers must decide how to divide raw material between domestic sales, export contracts and roe production.

VNIRO specialists had also identified a decline in salmon returns since 2020. They linked the change partly to shifting ocean conditions. The source material provides no revised full-season forecast, species-level breakdown or regional allocation, so it remains unclear how the shortfall is distributed among individual fisheries and producers.

Export decision is limited to one producer

DRUK’s withdrawal from foreign sales does not amount to a suspension of Russian red fish exports as a whole. Agrotime stressed that the decision applies to one company choosing to sell its available fish and roe domestically under conditions of limited supply. Other Russian producers may continue serving external markets.

For domestic wholesalers, retailers and processors, DRUK’s decision makes more of that company’s output available inside Russia than would have been the case if exports continued. The actual effect on market supply and prices will depend on the company’s volumes, the final salmon catch, inventories and the decisions of other producers. None of those figures was provided in the reports.

Foreign importers dealing with DRUK may need to replace its shipments or reduce purchases, although the affected destinations and contract terms have not been identified. For the company, prioritising Russia concentrates sales in one market but avoids dividing a limited catch between domestic and overseas channels. The wider trade impact will remain restricted unless other producers adopt similar measures as the 2026 season develops.