Japanese Saury Fleet Abandons Operations in Russian Waters, Missing Out For The First Time in Four Years

Despite Japan and Russia concluding their annual fisheries agreement negotiations in June, the Japan Pacific Saury Fisheries Association has decided not to operate in Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2026 due to a significant delay in the signing of the agreement compared to previous years, coupled with rising operating costs and stricter regulatory requirements. This marks the first time since 2022 that the Japanese saury fleet has completely abandoned fishing in Russian waters.

 

Russian waters have historically been an important supplementary fishing ground for the Japanese saury fleet. This year's withdrawal not only signifies a further contraction in the fleet's operating range but also reflects a changing operating environment for saury fisheries in Northeast Asia.

 

Delayed Fisheries Agreement Signing Leads to Fleet's Decision to Abandon Russian Fishing Grounds

Japan and Russia officially reached the 2026 fisheries agreement on June 19, approximately 20 days later than last year. The Japan Pacific Saury Fisheries Association believes that even if all subsequent permit approvals are successfully completed, the fleet can only enter Russian waters at the earliest by mid-October, which will already be past the peak saury fishing season.

At its board meeting on June 26, the association ultimately decided not to operate in Russia's exclusive economic zone this year, in accordance with the Japan-Russia coastal fisheries agreement.

 

In addition to the time factor, the association also pointed out that Russia has increased its regulatory requirements in recent years, including stricter fisheries enforcement arrangements involving Russian inspectors and a significant increase in the cost of vessel monitoring systems, all of which have significantly increased the fleet's operating costs.

 

The association stated that Russian waters could have been a third operating option besides the high seas and Japan's exclusive economic zone, but currently there is still a risk that vessels cannot operate normally, or even if they can, it will be difficult to achieve profitability.

Last year, catches from Russian waters accounted for less than 10% of the total catch.

In fact, the timing of Japanese saury fleets entering Russian waters has been increasingly affected in recent years. In 2022, affected by international financial sanctions following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Japanese companies were unable to pay related fees to Russia, and the fleet also abandoned operations in Russian waters that year.

 

In 2025, due to delays in negotiations, the Japanese fleet was not granted permission to enter Russian waters until October, significantly shortening its operational time. Data shows that in the previous fishing season, the Japanese fleet caught 5,739 tons of saury in Russian waters, less than 10% of the total annual catch of 64,738 tons.

 

The association believes that even if they can enter Russian waters by mid-October this year, the saury have already completed their main migration, the peak fishing season is essentially over, and with current significantly increased operating costs, continuing to operate in Russia is no longer economically viable.

Japan Announces 2026 Fleet Operations Plan

After abandoning Russian waters, the Japanese saury fleet will focus on fishing in the high seas and Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to the association's plan, high seas operations will officially begin on August 10th for the third consecutive year.

 

Japan's EEZ will be opened in phases based on vessel tonnage, with operations commencing on August 10th, August 15th, and August 20th respectively. This means that the main fishing activities of the Japanese saury fleet this year will still revolve around the high seas of the North Pacific and the waters near Japan, while Russian waters will be temporarily excluded from the Japanese fleet's operating range.

 

Japan Adjusts Quota System to Improve Fishing Efficiency

In addition to finalizing operational plans, the Japan Pacific Saury Fisheries Association has also adjusted its Individual Quota (IQ) management system for 2026. Because Japan's Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for saury in 2026 is decreasing by 5% compared to the previous year, the association decided to optimize quota allocation to improve overall utilization efficiency.

Data shows that in 2025, the Japanese fleet only fulfilled about 75% of its quota. Under the old system, unused quotas were difficult to transfer to vessels with better catches in a timely manner, resulting in some quotas remaining idle. Under the new management method, the fleet will initially receive 90% of the individual quota, with the remaining 10% being incorporated into a reserve quota managed by designated vessels.

 

During the fishing season, the association will dynamically reallocate the reserve quotas based on the actual production situation of each vessel, giving priority to ensuring that vessels can use at least 95% of their quotas during the main fishing period in mid-to-late October. Vessels with good catches will be allowed to complete 100% of their quotas, and may even continue to receive the remaining reallocated quotas after other vessels have finished their operations early.

 

The association stated that the goal of this adjustment is to reduce the phenomenon of "dormant quotas" and improve the overall utilization rate of Japanese saury fishing quotas.

 

For the Northeast Asian saury industry, the withdrawal of Japanese fleets from Russian waters this year means that Russia's exclusive economic zone will be without Japanese fleet participation, and the focus of operations will return to the high seas and Japanese coastal waters. This has made the distribution of saury resources, the yield of various fishing grounds, and the subsequent market supply more closely watched by the industry.