Russian court strips Nautilus LLC of kelp harvesting rights after quota failures

The Arbitration Court of Primorsky Krai has ended a kelp harvesting quota agreement with Nautilus LLC. The decision follows a lawsuit by Rosrybolovstvo, which accused the company of failing to meet its quota obligations. Nautilus LLC was established in Vladivostok in 2016. Its main business was marine fishing, and it held a 1.178% share of the total kelp quota in Primorye’s underwater areas. Pavel Moskalenko, the company’s founder and CEO, oversaw its operations.

In 2023 and 2024, the firm harvested less than 70% of its allowed kelp volume. Rosrybolovstvo argued that two consecutive years of underutilised quotas justified contract termination. The court agreed, ruling that Nautilus LLC had committed a material breach of the agreement. The court’s decision removes Nautilus LLC’s right to industrial kelp harvesting in the region. The company must now cease operations under the terminated quota allocation. Rosrybolovstvo’s lawsuit has successfully enforced the contract’s conditions.