Russian salmon farmer halts deliveries amid disease, weather setbacks
Murmansk-based aquaculture producer Russian Salmon has suspended fish deliveries through the end of January following a sharp decline in production, citing disease outbreaks and adverse weather conditions.
The company began facing serious challenges in 2023, when salmon lice infestations caused mortality rates of 70–80 percent in pens holding an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, according to the Russian online newspaper KO.
In 2024, Russian Salmon sold off remaining inventory, but now says it must pause operations until the next smolt stocking cycle to avoid further losses.
From November 2024 to January 2025, the company has stopped shipments, stating it currently has no market-size fish available.
Another major Russian salmon farming company, Inarktika, has also reported similar losses. A combination of unusually cold weather between January and March 2024, jellyfish-related injuries, and heavy sea lice infestation damaged its production. Additional complications came from delayed and reduced smolt imports, meaning stocked fish did not reach harvest size in time.
Earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev suggested that fish prices could be reduced by cutting out intermediaries in the distribution chain. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service is currently reviewing pricing in the domestic fish market.
Russian Salmon is one of the country’s largest domestic salmon producers, operating in the Barents Sea. Russia relies heavily on imports of smolts and aquaculture equipment, making it vulnerable to logistical and regulatory disruptions.