Catches of Iwashi sardine by the Russian fleet in the Far East have exceeded 60,000 tonnes already this year – an 83% incrsase over the fishery last year.
Caught in the North-Western Pacific in both the Russian and Japanese EEZs, Iwashi sardine had been a substantial fishery in the past, but for a variety of reasons this stock failed to appear in Russian waters for many years.
Its relatively recent re-appearance has provided a practically new pelagic fishery for this region of Russia and its fishing fleet.
In 2023 Iwashi sardine landings in Russian totalled 544,000 tonnes, a record figure for the post-Soviet era, and this year the provisional quota is set at 579,000 tonnes, although this stands to be adjusted during the course of the fishing season.
