July 28, 2014 — The export of frozen, Russian-caught Pollock — much of it to America — amounted to nearly a half million tons, or 35 percent of Russia’s $2.4 billion seafood export sector. All of which makes a consumer boycott an easy choice for Americans seeking an outlet to express their feelings toward Russia.
Russia’s outrages, from its unflinching support for the murderous regime of Bashar Assad in Syria to its violent and illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine to its apparent complicity in shooting down a civilian airliner over Ukrainian airspace last week, killing more than 290 innocent people, are affronts to the civilized world.
President Obama, joined by many allies, has levied an escalating series of targeted economic sanctions against Russia, which are beginning to put serious strain on its fragile economy. According to several new public opinion polls, anti-Russian sentiment is growing among ordinary Americans, and Obama is no doubt considering a further turning of the screws to signal America’s indignation at Russia’s behavior and to attempt to change it.
Families across America don’t have to wait; they can stand up to Vladimir Putin, and they need look no further than their grocer’s shelves and local restaurants to do it. Boycott Russian fish.
In 2013, Russian companies caught almost 4.3 million tons of fish, putting Russia in the top 10 of the world’s fishery producers and employing hundreds of thousands of Russians. President Putin considers fisheries a “strategic” sector and a key part of growing Russia’s gross domestic product. Pollock is the most important of Russia’s commercial catches, accounting for more than 60 percent of Russia’s total fish and seafood catch.