Russian Trawl Maker Uses AI to Reshape the Fishing Industry
Fishing Service has launched an AI-driven approach to designing fishing gear, enabling fleets to catch fish populations that are adapting to new harvesting methods.
Continuous Modernization of Fishing Gear
The Kaliningrad-based company Fishing Service has been manufacturing trawls for more than 30 years. Over the past three years, it has systematically used artificial intelligence to develop new models. Without this approach, the company says, it is no longer possible to create effective fishing gear for today’s fish stocks, and without modern gear, strong catches cannot be achieved. In current conditions, fishermen are forced to regularly upgrade their equipment because fish behavior in the seas is constantly changing.
This change is driven by natural selection. Fish that are slower and tend to gather in dense schools are typically caught first. What remain are individuals that move differently – faster and in looser formations. Fish stocks are also influenced by climate change. This is especially relevant for Russia’s key fishing basins in the Far East and the Northwest.
As a result, fundamentally different trawls are needed for efficient operations, and AI has become essential for Fishing Service to refine and improve its designs.
Algorithms Are Changing Fishing Practices
Machine learning algorithms allow engineers to analyze vast datasets on the behavior of different fish species under varying hydrodynamic conditions, the characteristics of specific fishing regions, and the design features of existing gear.
AI compares one trawl model with another and recommends what should be improved. It helps identify the optimal balance in design. The most effective fishing gear, the company says, is achieved when there is the right balance between the rope components and the netting. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to find this balance and supports engineers in developing nets that attract fish more efficiently while minimizing losses.
Another important advantage is the ability to analyze material wear under different operating conditions. This allows the company to select optimal material combinations, reducing maintenance and repair costs for fishing gear.
Russian Trawls Are Being Copied
As a result, the company’s flagship product line, the Atlantika trawls, is now well known to fishermen across the world’s oceans.
“Today we have more than 50 trawl models that are in demand worldwide. They are brazenly copied in Spain, Chile, South Korea, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. But no one has been able to match the reliability and quality that we deliver,” said Andrey Fyodorov, director of Fishing Service.
The company plans to expand sales both in Russia and internationally. In the North Atlantic, the Kaliningrad manufacturer has fully displaced foreign trawl suppliers from the Russian market in the perch fishing segment. Fishing Service continues to develop new trawls and modernize existing models. Fishing gear is becoming more efficient, easier to manage, and better adapted to the design features of modern vessels. All development work is carried out using neural networks.
To support production growth, the company is actively attracting young specialists. Fishing Service invests in workforce training and cooperates with educational institutions in the Kaliningrad region, including Kaliningrad State Technical University. In 2025, the company held training seminars for more than 200 captains and trawl masters from Russian fishing companies to support practical knowledge exchange.
The enterprise has repeatedly received the prestigious Moscow-based Golden Mercury award in the category Best Industrial Exporter of the Russian Federation.
Today, 250 vessels from 20 countries are fishing with trawls produced by Fishing Service. The company believes this is only the beginning.
