Production of main deep-processed fish products, 2017-25

Over the eight years of the investment quota program, production volumes of the main deep-processed fish products—frozen fish fillets and minced fish—have increased 2.3-fold.

In 2025, their output reached 383.9 thousand tons, up from 165.3 thousand tons in 2017, when the investment quota program was launched, boosting the development of processing both on new vessels and at onshore plants. This represents a 14% increase compared to the 2024 figure (336.09 thousand tons).

Production of frozen fish fillets and minced fish* in 2017-2025, thousand tons

The most pronounced growth was in the frozen minced fish category, driven by the development of surimi minced meat production, which began in 2020. The Russian Fishing Company (a member of the Fishery Shipowners Association) was the first to master this process directly on board new processing trawlers. Today, surimi production is rapidly expanding both at sea and onshore. As a result, the frozen minced meat category has grown more than fivefold compared to 2017 (from 25,970 tons to 130,530 tons).

Frozen fillet production increased by 82%, from 139,340 tons to 253,370.

The increase in fish fillet and mince production is observed against the backdrop of a slight decline in overall output, from 4,152 million tons in 2017 to 4,114 million tons in 2025.

The share of frozen fillets and mince in total fish production increased from 4% to 9.3%. According to FSA calculations, the share of catches of the main commercial species, pollock, sent for processing into fillets and mince (including surimi), increased from 14% to 37.5% over the past eight years.

Increasing the production of frozen fish fillets and minced fish meets the current demand for conveniently stored and prepared semi-finished products, which contributes to the President's goals of increasing domestic fish consumption and boosting the value of agricultural exports.

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*Data from Rosstat