Business program

Event details:

Since supplying the domestic market with fishery products remains a priority, development of exports is becoming a key prerequisite for ensuring a stable fishery industry, with exports accounting for almost 70% of the sector's revenues Russian fishery producers are maintaining the rate of production (catch) of aquatic bioresources and the volume of fishery product exports in face of closure of US market for their products, introduction of safeguard import duties by Great Britain and EU member states, and other unfriendly actions. They are expanding supplies to Asia and launching new export lanes. Even so, the sector's financial performance is slowing down, this driving the need for measures both to stimulate fish processors and shore up exporters.

Topics to discuss:

• Current and target export structure
• Efficiency and weight of exports in the sector's financial performance
• Export development barriers and government incentives
• Promising export destinations

Speakers:

1. Sergey Levin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
2. Konstantin Savenkov, Deputy Head, Rosselkhoznadzor
3. Andrey Yakovlev, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
4. Roman Chekushov, Director, Department of International Cooperation and Licensing in Foreign Trade, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
5. Stanislav Aksenov, Deputy Director General, Russian Fishing Company
6. Alexey Buglak, President, Russian Pollock Catchers Association
7. Dmitry Krasnov, Head, Agroexport
8. Ilya Rakovsky, Chairman, Karelian Fisheries Union
9. Inna Rykova, Head, Centre for Industry Economics, Research Financial Institute, Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
10. Sergey Sennikov, Deputy Director, Norebo Management Company
11. Alexey Solodov, Vice President, Russian Export Centre
12. Ivan Fetisov, General Director, Expo Solutions Group

Event details:

Aquaculture, more than any other branch of agriculture, depends on the quality of the environment where the farm stock is kept. Water is a very stable environment. It can compensate for and even out many impacts by means of its natural self-purification enabled by the sun and the organisms living in the water. At the same time, water does not let you see clearly the processes waking place within it. So, there are times when you cannot assess risks and prevent problems fast enough.

People set up fish cages and plantations with invertebrates, place fish in pools and ponds, use artificial feed and fertilizers, and transport adventitious species and diseases. Organic pollution of waters is a major challenge for both water bodies and associated business operations. What burden on a water body is just enough to leave a margin for sustainable operation of the business? What do you need to know about the business when designing and operating it, and how can you establish feedback between aquaculture production and the aquatic environment?

Industrial development and production increase represent an organic path for the vast majority of aquaculture producers. This means amassing farm stock and their byproducts in a limited water space, accumulation of uneaten feed, increased organic burden, and degradation of water quality and fish immunity. What should you do to prevent your future product from falling victim to the tiny but dangerous and numerous microbes and parasites? How can you assess risks, prevent and treat diseases?

Today, these issues take priority, right alongside ensuring a stable increase in production. It is time to take a look at what is happening under the water, identify related challenges and bottlenecks, and talk about the legislative, organizational, scientific and practical aspects that are becoming increasingly relevant for all of us.

Topics to discuss:

• Effective use of water bodies in aquaculture
• Keeping the burden on water body within tolerable limits
• Keeping farm stock safe and healthy

Speakers:

1. Alexey Cheremukhin, Essen, K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management, ‘A biosafety approach to disinfection in aquaculture and fish processing’;
2. Representative of VNIRO;
3. Representative of Rosselkhoznadkhor;
4. Representative of Russian Salmon;
5. Representative of INARCTICA;
6. Representative of the National Association of Industrial Aquaculture Enterprises;
7. Representative of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA), China
8. Representative of the Central Union of Aquaculture Producers, Turkiye

Event details:

Global political transformations offer universities a new trajectory for international cooperation in research and education projects. Exchange of existing and creation of new technological knowledge, fundamental research efforts in response to global and local challenges, and training of young professionals in some essential skills and expertise for resolving future problems remain highly relevant for training skilled workers for the industry.

This roundtable session is the first open dialogue between universities interested in building and expanding global cooperation in fishery industry education and research projects. Its participants will share their experience of new international project formats, discuss the problems they face during such projects and ways to address them.

The event will kick-start the building of a new model of international research and education cooperation in training staff for the fishery sector in Asia-Pacific.

Topics to discuss:

1. The competitive edge of Russian fishery education
2. Research project experience of the Eurasian Economic Union's member states
3. Export of Russian fishery education: opportunities and prospects
4. Different aspects of grant support for joint international research and education projects

Speakers:

1. Oleg Kobyakov, Director, FAO Russia Liaison Office;
2. Vladimir Moshkalo, Director, UNEP Russia Office;
3. Alexander Nevaleny, Rector, Astrakhan State Technical University;
4. Vladimir Volkogon, Rector, Kaliningrad State Technical University;
5. Behrooz Abtahi, Vice-Rector for Research and Development, Professor, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti State University, Iran;
6. Representatives of universities;
7. Representatives of SCO, BRICS, EAEU

Event details:

China remains the primary market for Russian fish and seafood suppliers. Both countries take an interest in increasing supplies and expanding the share of highly processed products, but those who want to enter the Chinese market with their product must meet a number of requirements and follow procedures the participants learned about at Seafood Expo Russia last year. The exhibition in Qingdao and festivals in Shenyang and Dalian confirmed the steadily growing popularity of crab and other fishery products. China has something to offer Russia, as well. First and foremost, these are technologies enabling development of shipbuilding, equipment manufacture and aquaculture. These topics will be among the key agenda issues of the “Russia–China” business session.

Exporters and importers of fishery products, equipment and technologies from both countries are invited to contribute to the business dialogue.

Invited to participate:

1. Representative of Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Mr. Wang Xueguang, Vice President and Secretary General, China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA)
3. Mr. Lu Daqiang, Chairman, Liao Yu Group Co.
4. Yulia Yurova, Director General, Russian Crab Group of Companies
5. Saveliy Karpukhin, Director General, Russian Fishery Company

Event details:

The Professionals Training Programme is a new form of cooperation between education providers and employers in the format of education-to-industry clusters united by shared training programmes seeking to cover the employer’s specific HR needs and with its direct involvement.

Topics to discuss:

1. A new form of cooperation between education providers and employers
2. New training programmes
3. Modern facilities and resources that comply with the Federal State Education Standard for Secondary Professional Education and meet employers’ needs
4. Development of evaluation resources for demo examination
5. Internship and employment

Speakers:

1. Victor Neumyvakin, Director, Department of State Policy in Secondary Vocational Education and Vocational Training, Russian Ministry of Education
2. Sergey Kazhevnikov, Rector, Vocational Education Development Institute
3. Anna Sheveleva, General Director, Baltiysky Bereg Trading House
4. Sergey Levchenko, General Director, Vestrybflot
5. Sergey Karpovich, Head, Kaliningrad Marine Fisheries College, Kaliningrad State Technical University
6. Sergey Losyakov, Director, St. Petersburg Sea Fishing College, a branch of Kaliningrad State Technical University
7. Pavel Nasenkov, developer of demonstration assessment materials
8. Inna Titova, developer of demonstration assessment materials
9. Yulia Aldushina, developer of demonstration assessment materials

• Ilya Shestakov, Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries*;
• Vladimir Volkogon, Rector, Kaliningrad State Technical University;
• Kirill Kolonchin, Director, Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO)

Event details:

Russia and India are leaders in the global fishery industry, their cooperation extending beyond BRICS. Even though Russia outstrips India in catch volume, the latter has made considerable gains in both production and export of farmed fishery products. Continued development of the sector is increasing India's demand for fishmeal used in feed production, which can be supplied by Russian exporters. These issues and the opportunities for cooperation in technology transfer will be the focus of the agenda for the “Russia–India” business session.

Exporters and importers of fishery products, equipment and technologies from both countries are invited to contribute to the business dialogue.

Invited to participate:

1. Andrey Yakovlev, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Sergey Cheremin, Head, Department for External Economic and International Relations, Moscow City Government; Chairman of the Board, Business Council for Cooperation with India
3. Representative of MPEDA
4. Representatives of Russian companies (exporters and importers)
5. Representative of a logistics company
6. Financial representative

Event details:

The current renovation of the industry's business assets involves building new ships (including transport refrigerators), processing factories and logistics parks, which simply cannot be operated without qualified staff.

To supply qualified personnel, sector-specific universities have initiated collaboration with associations of major fishing companies. Yet, some problems remain to be discussed.

Hands-on training is an important aspect of staff training, especially in relation to sailing internship. Shipowners are often reluctant to hire trainees, especially minors. Moreover, trainees are offered sailing internships in disciplines that are not their main specializations.

Amendments to Federal Law No. 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation” dated 29 December 2012, which came into effect on 1 May 2024, could constitute a turning point in resolving the given issues. These amendments allow fishing companies that have held this status for at least three years an opportunity to act as customers of employer-sponsored university training programmes at public expense to the extent of a fixed quota, to provide training to non-graduate individuals.

Such individuals can enter into an employer-sponsored training contract within a secondary professional or higher education programme.

Topics to discuss:

1. Key issues associated with sailing internship
2. New opportunities for employer-sponsored training
3. Prospects for expanding practical training
4. Special aspects of sailing internship for minors

Speakers:

1. Vasily Sokolov, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
2. German Zverev, President, All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE)
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
3. Alexey Osintsev, President, Fishery Shipowners Association
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
4. 4. Evgeny Masyutkin, Rector, Kerch State Marine Technological University
   “Issues with Organizing Training at Sea at Kerch State Marine Technological University”
5. Natalia Savchenko, HR Director, Russian Crab
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
6. Vladimir Grigoriev, member of the FSARF council, authorized representative of the Director of the Norebo Management Company
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
7. Oleg Sheshenya, HR Director, YAMSy
   topic of the presentation to be confirmed
8. Representative of Federal Service for Labour and Employment (to be confirmed)

Event details:

Saudi Arabia is a new market for Russian fishery producers, but the excellent quality and competitive prices of Russian products have already made them popular with local retail chains. The high purchasing power of local consumers allows exporters to increase their sales margin, while logistics account for most of the costs. A collaborative approach to handling this challenge can help optimize delivery routes, significantly expanding the product mix available for sale on the local market and for re-export. In addition, the parties have a significant potential for joint development of aquaculture and its provision with relevant resources.

Exporters and importers of fishery products, equipment and technologies from both countries are invited to contribute to the business dialogue.

Invited to participate:

1. Andrey Yakovlev, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Ahmed Saleh Aiadh AlKhamshi, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3. Ibrahim Alzahrani, Director, Aquaculture at the National Program for Livestock and Fisheries Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
4. Tatyana Gvilava, Chair, Russian-Arab Business Council
5. Yulia Yurova, Director General, Russian Crab Group of Companies
6. Representatives of Russian companies (exporters and importers)

Event details:

Logistics are an area of strategic importance for development of the fishery complex. Certain aspects of foreign policy have changed the flows of Russian cargos, fish being no exception. Changes in the fishery product supply chain have led to infrastructure shortages. Who will make up for these shortages? What are the options for diversifying fishery product transport: make big shipments in refrigerated vessels or use mobile containers? How will fish be delivered to a processing factory or a distribution chain? How will regulatory changes impact on logistics parks and transport fleets as investment obligations?

Topics to discuss:

• Options for delivering fish cargos via Russian sea ports. Public and private port infrastructure. Investment in logistics parks
• Fish transportation by rail: expansion of subsidies, rail traffic capacity and competition with road transport and shipments via the Northern Sea Route
• Warehouse and refrigeration parks and container sites: shortages, seasonal factors and investor burdens

Speakers:

1. Hasan Likhov, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Andrey Grechkin, General Director, Dalreftrans (FESCO Transportation Group)
3. Vladimir Walter, General Director, Terminal Seroglazka
4. Representative of the Unified Payments Centre

Event details:

Development of the future global fishery complex drives the demand for innovation and promotes mainstreaming of advanced technologies in all domains. For example, the need to reduce incidental catch and minimize the impact on non-target species is resulting in development of more selective fishing gear. Rising fuel costs and the need for higher operating efficiency are strong incentives to improve fishing vessel and navigation system design, with fully automated and unmanned systems now becoming a reality.

The growing aquaculture production also drives innovation and brings new species and multi-trophic fish farming, improvements in RAS technology, giant floating aquafarms and aquaponics, biotechnology applications to improve productivity and species quality, business process automation solutions, robots and artificial intelligence.

Technologies for fishery product deep processing and improvements in logistics will help fill the gap in the global consumer market. A commitment to increasing transparency and improving traceability in supply chains driven by the demand for environmentally safe seafood has spurred innovations in data acquisition and management technologies.

What may appear fantastical today will soon be the norm, not only for the fisherman and the fish farmer, but also to the ordinary consumer – the very reason the global fisheries complex exists.

Topics to discuss:

• Global experience and development trends in the fisheries industry
• New technologies and fishing equipment for the proper exploitation of the bioresources of the World Ocean
• Deep processing. What will reduce the share of waste?
• Is aquaculture possible without problems?
• Are biotechnologies changing the rules of the game?
• Algae – are we growing future market leaders?
• Fish products: What are we going to but, where and how?

Speakers:

1. Dmitry Patrushev, Deputy Chairman, Government of the Russian Federation
2. Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
3. Representatives of business and scientific structures with breakthrough developments in the fisheries sector from Russia and friendly countries

Event details:

Today, Russia is proceeding with its persistent efforts to retrofit its fishing fleet, renovate processing facilities and build new coastal factories and logistics parks. The investment quotas initiative helped kick-start these processes, and its participants are seeking to optimize the timing and localize the manufacture of equipment used so that their customers – fishing companies – might start using the renovated infrastructure as soon as possible to increase the volume and efficiency of catch and processing of aquatic bioresources.

An open and constructive dialogue between all parties involved, including but not limited to the customer and shipyards, must be established to ensure business continuity on a mutually beneficial basis. Manufacturers and vendors of shipboard equipment and systems play a major role in the construction, outfitting and maintenance of the shipping fleet. They are starting to pay greater attention to contracts in the fishery industry and the opportunities that the sector brings for commercial shipbuilding.

Invited to participate:

1. Hasan Likhov, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Albert Karimov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
3. Sergey Kulikov, Director General, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
4. Andrey Puchkov, General Director, United Shipbuilding Corporation
5. Representatives of ship customers
6. Representatives of contractors – equipment producers

Event details:

Visit the II International Conference “Digitalization as a modern trend promoting fish farm efficiency” to explore the best practices in automation and digitalization of aquaculture farms.

This event will bring together leading experts, innovators and industry representatives to share their experience and discuss burning issues and real cases of successful aquaculture projects.

Learn more about the conference at aquaconf.ru

Event details:

Increasing the share of healthy foods made from Russian fish in the consumer basket of every Russian citizen across the country is a strategic objective for the fishery industry. In 2023, Russia produced 4.4 million tonnes of fish and seafood products, 30% of which were highly processed products. Manufacturers today are very sensitive to market demands: they produce everything that is in high demand, introduce and test innovative products. Even so, the market needs a concerted marketing strategy to increase consumption of fish and seafood, the main components being price, availability in stores and promotion.

Topics to discuss:

• Consumer tastes in Russia in relation to the most popular types of fish and fishery products, and the most wanted fish cooking techniques
• Measures to support fish processing companies and stimulate processing by fish producers
• Optimizing trade margins, intermediary services, storage and processing at points of sale and display
• Regional fish festivals: 2025 consolidated plan synchronized with promotion campaigns hosted by retail chains

Speakers:

1. Hasan Likhov, Deputy Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. Maxim Titov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
3. Russian Quality System (Roskachestvo) / Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
4. Alexander Panin, Chairman, Fish Union
5. Fishing companies: Norebo, Antey, Lenin Collective Farm
6. Processing companies Agama, Fosforel
7. Chain stores: X5, Globus, Moskva na volne

Event details:

The country’s fishing industry is faced with a shortage of young specialists. Modern training programmes at universities specializing in fisheries should be preparing qualified personnel, but few of the graduates end up working in related businesses or scientific institutes after graduation. Why would one want to work in the fishing industry or academia? What does the future of the fishing industry in this country look like? “Look beyond the horizon!” is an event where the industry’s best people come to meet students from universities specializing in fisheries on equal terms. The winners of university competitions held in January–June 2024 will defend their projects and maybe even receive offers directly from those with the power to make them.

Experts:

1. Ilya Shestakov, Head, Federal Agency for Fisheries
2. German Zverev, President, All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (WARPE)
3. Sergey Kunitsyn, Director, Agama Group of Companies Innovation Laboratory;

Participant projects:

1. Danil Kolesnikov, Student, Kamchatka State Technical University
   “Developing gaseous carbon dioxide technology for grainy salmon caviar”
2. Alexandra Kolesnikova, Master’s Student, Kaliningrad State Technical University
   “Comprehensive laboratory analysis of Euphausia Superba (Dana, 1850) (Euphausiacea:Euphausiidae)”;
3. Pavel Polukhin, Teaching Assistant, Astrakhan State Technical University
   “Marine robotics for the fishing industry”;
4. Alexey Makarenko, Student, Kerch State Marine Technological University
   “Innovative production technologies for minced molluscs with vegetable additives”
5. Ksenia Bogdanovskaya, Anastasia Poletayeva, Margarita Gapeyeva, Students, Dalrybvtuz
   “Developing technology for the industrial cultivation of macroalgae Ulva laktuca”