The program of aquaculture development in Karelia were discussed at the meeting of the state Commission on preparation for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The meeting was held on 29 November in Petrozavodsk the Russian security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

Fish cluster will roughly double the volume of aquaculture production reported in the press service of the Agency. It includes two dozen investment projects with a total value of approximately 7.4 billion, including farms and fish processing, production of feed, production of planting material.

According to the government of the Republic of Karelia for the first nine months of this year, local businesses aquaculture produced 18 thousand tons of marketable fish. The market growth of fish production associated with the increase in the consumption and import substitution, among other factors, gives the possibility to predict the increase of total fish production in the region by 2020 to 35 thousand tons.

The head of Rosrybolovstvo Ilya Shestakov was supported by the cluster project, noting that the development of aquaculture is a priority. One of the main tasks he called the substitution on planting material for commercial fish farms. On the basis of vilskogo hatchery fgbu "Karelrybvod" it is planned to create a modern breeding centre for fish, which will be part of the cluster.

"The leadership of the Agency in this year pays special attention to Karelia, and it can not but rejoice. Second, in recent months the visit of the head of the Agency Ilya Shestakov in Petrozavodsk gives hope that an ambitious project to create a fishery cluster in the Republic will be fully implemented," — said the Chairman of the Union rybopromyshlennikov Karelii Ilya Rakowski.

According to him, before the Karelian farmers tasked to significantly increase the volumes of marketable fish in the years to come. To do this, with the support of Federal agencies will create infrastructure for production of planting material and feed for fish. Its part of the Karelian enterprises engaged in the oceanic fishing, ready to participate in the project for the production of fodder as a supplier of high quality fish meal.

The Agency noted that work will continue and on the formation of fish-breeding sites. New projects will focus mainly on the cultivation of trout and mussels in the White sea. In addition, the country plans the construction of several fish processing plants.

Project financing will mainly be at the expense of investors. More than 1 billion rubles will be required to allocate from the Federal budget, the remaining volume will provide the budget of the Republic of Karelia.