Some Russian producers are hoping to increase production to cover one third of the country’s entire salmon and trout consumption.
A peninsula in northern Russia which is close to key military bases and nuclear submarines is being used to grow the country’s salmon farming regime.
There are many fish farms on the outskirts of the Murmansk Fjord, located at the Kola Peninsula, with many more planned.
The area is a key site for Russian military as the base for the Northern Fleet.
“The military has its tasks, and the development of fish farms is not always a priority for them,” Ilja Sosnov, manager of Russian Aquaculture, the biggest salmon farmer in the country, told NRK. “We are used to this neighbourhood and cooperate constructively.”
Russia has an import ban on Western products that includes salmon and trout. It happened in the wake of the Crimean annexation five years ago.
But some have used the opportunity to grow their own aquaculture locally.
Vice President Nikita Paderin, of Russian Aquaculture, told NRK: “Yes, it is an advantage, but it is not so big that it determines everything, because we also sell the fish at international prices on the world market.”
They say their biggest advantage is their location in relation to the international markets. If the Western ban ends, they say they can get their produce out faster than rivals across the globe.
