PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



producer in the 

 world, according 

 to a 2004 U.S. 

 Department of 

 Agriculture's 

 Global 

 Agricultural 

 Information 

 Network report. 



Both 

 American 

 and Russian 

 consumers 

 want superior 

 products. Russian 

 consumers are 

 increasingly 

 demanding greater 

 variety and quality, 

 says a Russian 

 brief included in 

 the global report. 



As a result, local retail outlets and 

 restaurants there now offer a wide range of both 

 traditional products — herring, Alaska pollock, 

 mackerel and salmon — as well as more exotic 

 items such as squid, prawns, mussels and 

 oysters. "At the same time, expanding local 

 production of semiprepared or convenience 

 foods is creating new markets for high quality 

 inputs," according to the report. 



To meet this demand, the Rybalkina 

 enterprise was established in 1 998 in the 

 Voronezh Region that is part of the "Central 

 Black Earth" economic district known for 

 its rich black soil and strong agricultural and 

 industrial presence. 



• Hi. nhthi 



ABOVE: This map of Asia shows the Voronezh Region 

 in western Russia. BELOW: Barry Nash works with 

 the Rybalkina staff on product development. 



Since its 

 inception, the 

 company has 

 grown to more 

 than 70 employees, 

 including the 

 main office and 

 four production 

 facilities. They 

 employ two staff 

 technologists 

 who manage 

 production, 

 quality control 

 and product 

 development. 



The 

 company's 

 primary focus is 

 processing herring, 

 scomber, bream, 

 mackerel, trout, capelin, sprat and salmon. 

 Moscow wholesale suppliers buy a large amount 

 of the company's raw frozen fish. 



The Russian enterprise has an excellent 

 infrastructure to process their seafood, says Nash. 



"However, they lacked adequate 

 refrigeration equipment — ice machines and 

 coolers like companies have in the United 

 States," he adds. "Electricity is expensive in 

 the rural areas, making it costly to operate 

 refrigeration units." 



At each production site, the company has 

 a retail outlet to market its products. It also has 

 it own logo and brand name: "Rybny Dvor." or 

 "The Fish Yard." 



Continued 



RURAL VORONEZH 



The Voronezh Region originally was settled 

 more than 30,000 years ago, according to 

 "Kommersant," Russia's daily online site. The 

 region includes the city of Voronezh. 



The area's most important period was 

 during the reign of Peter the Great, who ordered 

 the construction of a shipyard in 1 696, resulting 

 in the first Russian fleet. 



Over the years, Voronezh citizens have 

 fought several invasions, including those of 

 Napolean in 1 81 2 and Adolph Hitier in 1 943. 



In 1 991 , the region established a con- 

 nection with North Carolina when the City of 

 Charlotte signed a Sister Cities agreement that 

 provides for personal exchanges and visits, as 

 well as cultural and educational development 

 between the two areas. 



Charlotte and the City ofVoronezh — which 

 is 300 miles south of Moscow — are similar in 

 several ways, including size and strong industry 

 and university presences, according to Alina Ziaja 

 MacNichol, director of Charlotte's Sister Cities 

 office. "Our many successful exchanges with 

 Voronezh have included educational exchanges 

 between the police departments and the disabled 

 communities." — A. G. 



Coastwatch I Winter 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 27 



