Pursuant to the latest ruling by Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo), most fishing quotas held by Far Eastern fishery firm Dalrybprom have been officially revoked. Russian regulators ruled that the company is under de facto South Korean capital control and its awarded fishery resource quotas contravene provisions under Russian law.

The ruling covers multiple key fishing grounds across Russia’s Russian Far East, including 26 percent of the Pacific cod quota in the West Kamchatka waters, with far-reaching repercussions drawing widespread attention to Russia’s Far Eastern Pacific cod sector.

Quota Revocation Order Takes Effect on May 25

Under Order No. 295 issued by Rosrybolovstvo, the regulator formally annulled a raft of fishing quotas belonging to Vladivostok-based Dalrybprom on May 25, 2026.

Headquartered in the Russian Far East, Dalrybprom operates four fishing vessels and ranks as a mid-sized local harvesting enterprise. The revoked quotas span multiple core commercial fish stocks: 26% of the Pacific cod allocation for the West Kamchatka sub-district; approximately 4% of Pacific cod quotas in the West Bering Sea sub-district; 12% of Pacific flounder quotas for the Kamchatka-Kuril Islands sub-district; 121.5% of flounder quotas in the West Kamchatka sub-district; and 9% of flounder quotas within the West Bering Sea sub-district. Also scrapped are portions of pollock, Pacific cod and other demersal fish quotas.

Prior to the latest verdict, Dalrybprom’s aggregate annual catch quota stood at nearly 5,500 metric tons across all species.

Investigation Launched Back in 2023

The case traces its origins to 2023. In November that year, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) concluded an investigation and determined Dalrybprom alongside its affiliates Arinai and Mikkor were effectively controlled by foreign capital, rendering their previously awarded fishing quotas unlawfully obtained.

Probe findings confirmed Dalrybprom, Arinai and Mikkor operate as a de facto unified business conglomerate with an array of South Korean counterparts. Named South Korean entities include Asia Cold Storage Co., Green Star, Seong Kyung Fisheries Co., Nordic Ice, Blue Ice, Green Food and Hae Won Cold Storage Co.

Regulators maintained the Russian firms maintained long-standing, deep operational reliance on the South Korean companies, culminating in effective foreign corporate control.

Russian Courts Overturn Earlier Ruling in Favor of the Fishery Firm

Litigation stretched on for more than two years. In March 2024, Dalrybprom filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the FAS’s finding. In September 2025, the Moscow Arbitration Court initially ruled in the company’s favor, arguing regulators failed to produce sufficient evidence proving foreign capital dominance and struck down the antimonopoly watchdog’s decision. Supported by Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, the FAS proceeded to file an appeal.

In December 2025, the Ninth Arbitration Appellate Court reversed the lower-court judgment. Judges established up to 96 percent of Dalrybprom’s total catch was ultimately sold to South Korean firms, which in turn redistributed the produce to markets including South Korea and China.

The court further noted transactions between the three Russian operators and their South Korean partners deviated from standard market-based pricing and trading norms, constituting conclusive evidence of substantive South Korean capital control over the Russian fishing enterprises.

On April 10, 2026, the Moscow Regional Arbitration Court upheld the appellate verdict, clearing all legal hurdles for Rosrybolovstvo to withdraw the relevant fishing quotas.

Russia Expands Drive to Nationalize Domestic Fishery Resources

Russian statutory law bars entities under foreign capital control from engaging in commercial fishing operations. Over recent years, the Russian federal government has tightened scrutiny over ownership structures within its domestic fishery assets. Multiple fishing companies operating in the Russian Far East and northern fishing basins have undergone investigations, asset seizures or quota cancellations on identical grounds.

Days ahead of Dalrybprom’s quota revocation, Russian courts finalized asset confiscation and quota forfeiture proceedings against several fishery operators active in northern watersheds. The latest quota removal signals Moscow’s ongoing crackdown on foreign-controlled exploitation of national fishery resources remains in full swing.

Public corporate filings show Dalrybprom owns three large longline fishing vessels constructed between 2001 and 2004 in China’s Taiwan region, plus one smaller domestically built Russian fishing vessel completed in 1990. In 2025, the firm posted operating revenue of 1.6 billion Russian rubles (roughly 22.5 million US dollars) and a net profit of 113 million rubles.

With its core harvesting quotas stripped away, Russian regulators have yet to disclose further plans regarding Dalrybprom’s ability to sustain current operational scale or the future redistribution of the forfeited fishery quotas.