Russia's Agriculture Ministry has proposed extending the ban on vobla fishing in the Caspian Sea and adjacent inland waters through December 2027.
The draft order, under public discussion as of September 29, would keep commercial and recreational fishing closed from January 1 to December 31, 2027. The existing ban is due to expire at the end of 2026, while public discussion of the proposal is scheduled to close on October 13.
The prohibition covers the Caspian Sea and other bodies of water in Kalmykia. It also applies to the Volga River and its tributaries within the Astrakhan region, with an exception for commercial bycatch allowed under fisheries regulations.
The Russian Federal Agency for Fishery said scientists at the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) recorded encouraging results from the 2026 spawning season. Volga runoff during the spring flood reached 121 cubic kilometres, its highest level in five years, creating conditions the agency said supported natural reproduction.
The agency said that measures to restore vobla stocks, “are beginning to produce results,” and that scientists will continue monitoring spawning adults and juveniles to assess the population.
The draft would also extend common roach restrictions through 2027 in seven Astrakhan districts: Ikryaninsky, Kamyzyaksky, Volodarsky, Limansky, Krasnoyarsky, Narimanovsky and Privolzhsky.
The draft will prohibit recreational pike fishing in the Caspian Sea from December 11, 2026, to February 15, 2027. The seasonal measure will also cover the Volga and its tributaries within Kalmykia and water bodies in Astrakhan region.
Vobla fishing has been restricted since 2023, with only short permitted periods in 2023 and 2024 before a full ban began in 2025.
Caspian vobla catches fell from 18,000 tonnes in 1990 to 300 tonnes in 2024, figures attributed to VNIRO show.
A Volga-Caspian fisheries council recorded a 37-day fishery flood from May 6 to June 12, 2025, with 30 per cent of spawning grounds inundated. Its preliminary assessment found that the ban helped vobla reach spawning grounds farther upstream.
In a March 2026 interview with Korabel.ru, Anatoly Bogachev, head of the Caspian Fisheries Research Institute, said average vobla length rose from 14 cm in 2022–2023 to 17 cm in 2025. He also reported an increase in spawning migrations compared with previous years.
“To secure the effect, however, the vobla fishing ban needs to be extended for at least five years,” Bogachev said.
The Federal Agency for Fishery said the 2026 year class will spend a further three to four years in the North Caspian before reaching maturity and returning to spawn.