This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Vladimir Labinov, at a meeting of the Council under the Head of the Republic of Karelia on the Development of the Fisheries Complex.

Funding in new areas will be available to economic entities. As part of ecological monitoring, a portion of the costs for researching the impact of enterprises on the ecosystem of natural water bodies, and for determining the permissible volume of aquaculture cultivation in them, can be reimbursed. Provision will also be made for reimbursing costs for land reclamation work in aquaculture, project development, and the acquisition of equipment for production using recirculating aquaculture system technology, product storage, and waste disposal.

At the Council meeting, which was chaired by Artur Parfenchikov, the development of the fishing industry in the Arctic Zone was discussed separately. Priorities were also determined for the interaction between fish farms, the scientific community, and the public. The Council meeting was attended by representatives of relevant regional ministries and federal agencies, scientists from PetrSU and the Karelian Academy of Sciences, and more than 60 directors and specialists of fish farms.

According to Vladimir Labinov, the volume of aquaculture cultivation at the end of September amounted to 30.4 thousand tons, mostly trout. The region ranked third after the Murmansk Region and the Primorsky Territory. There are 73 fish farms and 36 processing plants operating in Karelia, including 22 based at trout farms and 14 independent production facilities.

“Fish processing volumes are increasing every year,” said Vladimir Labinov. “Processing has been organized to a greater extent through the use of financial support measures that have been in effect in the region since 2018. This year, enterprises were provided with state support from the federal and regional budgets amounting to 10.49 million rubles, and another 16 million rubles will be paid by the end of the year. As a result, the growth of tax contributions from production facilities doubled, reaching 210 million rubles for the first 10 months of 2021. The industry employs 1,600 people, excluding seasonal workers; in 2020, there were 1,300.”

Artur Parfenchikov emphasized the importance of interaction between aquaculture enterprises and local residents, the public, and absolutely with the scientific community.

“Our task is to maximize the environmental component of the fisheries industry. Therefore, the plans for next year involve clear actions on ecology paired with economy in the form of funding. Support measures should only be received by enterprises that comply with environmental requirements. We also need to communicate with people, convince the population of the environmental safety of production, and present documents and research backed by science,” said the regional head. “Interaction with the public must be systemic. Science should determine the feasibility of fish farming in specific bodies of water, their sections, as well as its maximum volumes with subsequent water quality monitoring.”

The Head of the Republic also proposed to incentivize scientists from PetrSU and the Karelian Academy of Sciences to study specific requests of fish farmers with a view to developing this industry, both as a whole and specifically in the Arctic.

“Taking into account the preferences we provide in this zone, in the north of the republic, we need to intensify scientific work on the processing of bottom sediments, and the implementation of artificial intelligence in the management and control system of fish farm operations,” said the regional head. “For the Arctic, including the White Sea, a separate roadmap is needed to study the possibility of cultivating mussels and other types of aquaculture.”

For these purposes, the republic is ready to issue separate grants to scientists for scientific research, technological developments, and startups.