EU considers stricter seafood sanctions, but cod from Murmansk goes free

Battles over which Russian seafood to sanction heat up in the EU. Will a ban work, or will the fish just be processed in third-party countries like China and sold back to the European market? Questions are many.

Negotiations among the European Union's member states now takes place in Brussels. Its outcome is unclear.

Germany, EU’s biggest consumer of Russian whitefish, buys 85 percent of all its imported Alaska pollock from Russia. The fish is then processed in Germany. Possible substitutes are few and the Germans fear work places will be lost, newspaper Die Welt reported. 

After Russia, the United States is the second biggest supplier to Europe. “If Alaska pollock from Russia is added to the EU sanctions list, this could significantly increase the prices for this fish from the USA,” said Felix Ahlers, CEO of frozen food manufacturer Frosta, to Die Welt. 

The Baltic States are among those calling for a US-style ban on imports. The United States placed Russian seafood under much stricter sanctions than the Europeans after the start of the full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022. 

Meanwhile, Russian cod from the Barents Sea has free access to European dinner tables. 

Some of the cod are landed at the three still-open Norwegian ports of Tromsø, Båtsfjording and Kirkenes, but biggest amount is reloaded in the open sea or sailed from Murmansk to Europe on non-Russian flagged vessels. Norwegian vessels are here shuttling, for the most to the Netherlands. 

Of 123,000 tons of seafood exported from Murmansk during the 9 first months of 2024, 98,000 tons were sent to EU countries, according to the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor). 

For Murmansk, the EU is by far the largest market for fish. Number two on the list is China, buying 17,400 tons of fish from the north Russian port in the same period.