The nationalization of Russia's fishery assets is still ongoing. Following the takeover of several fishery enterprises in the Far East, the Russian regulatory authorities are now turning their attention to the fishery basins in the north. The latest developments indicate that Russian prosecutors have initiated new legal procedures, attempting to confiscate and nationalize the core assets of several fishing companies on the grounds of "illegal foreign capital control".

  According to foreign media reports, the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court on January 16, 2026. The defendants include MurmanSeld 2 Company, Andromeda Company, Zarya Fishery Collective Farm, and the individual Yuri Zadvorny, among others. The relevant enterprises are mainly active in the northern fishery basin, operating a total of 6 fishing vessels. On January 23rd, the Moscow Arbitration Court officially accepted the case and set the court hearing date for February 27th.

  Although the court has not yet disclosed the full details of the lawsuit, several Russian media outlets, citing the prosecution's statement, said that the aforementioned enterprises were actually under foreign control and thus illegally obtained Russian fishing quotas. According to the current Russian Fisheries Law, enterprises controlled by foreign capital are, in principle, not allowed to engage in fishing operations, which has also become the core legal basis for many asset confiscation cases in recent years.

  The key figure in the case is Yuri Zadvorny. The prosecution accused him of being a permanent resident of Germany and selling wild-caught fish and related products from Russian companies through the company "Catfish Handelsgesellschaft" in Hamburg, Germany, which he controlled, thereby constituting "disguised foreign control". The Russian side said that this series of actions caused losses of nearly 40 billion rubles (about 526 million US dollars) between 2019 and 2025. Based on this, the prosecution requested the confiscation of assets totaling approximately 17.5 billion rubles of three fishery enterprises including MurmanSeld 2.

  From an operational perspective, these enterprises are not "shell companies". Take MurmanSeld 2 as an example. In 2025, the company achieved a net profit of 1 billion rubles, an annual revenue of approximately 2 billion rubles, and owned four fishing vessels: Alferas, Almak, Mirakh and Kastor. Andromeda operates a fishing vessel of the same name, while Zarya operates the "Valentin Manturov", and there are three sister vessels under construction. More notably, these enterprises still hold the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Sustainable Fisheries Certification for Atlantic cod and haddock at present.

  This operation is also regarded as an extension of Russia's fishery policy continuity in recent years. Over the past few years, Russia has taken over a large amount of fishery assets in the Far East for similar reasons. By the end of 2025, the Russian government will transfer the shares of the previously nationalized seafood and related enterprises to the wholly state-owned enterprise - Far East Fisheries Management Company (DRUK).

  At present, DRUK has full control over 55 fishery and related enterprises in the Far East region, as well as 96 real estate assets, including ports, storage facilities, buildings and land. Its management scope covers 34 medium and large-sized fishing vessels, 80 small-sized fishing vessels, as well as 6 ports and logistics complexes located in Sakhalin, Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk regions, with a total of approximately 2,700 employees.

  From the Far East to the northern seas, Russia's "renationalization" of fishery assets is showing a trend of regional spread. For international aquatic product traders who rely on Russian raw materials, this is not only a legal risk event at the enterprise level, but also indicates that the allocation of Russian fishery resources and the export pattern are entering a more concentrated and uncertain stage.