Yuzhno-Kurilsky Fish Processing Factory is one of the largest fishing enterprises in the Sakhalin region of eastern Russia, with an annual fish catch of up to 42,000 tons.1 The company operates a fleet of 14 modern vessels for fishing, processing, transportation, and special purposes, enabling year-round operations in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean.2 The company’s main production center is located on Kunashir Island, in the town of Yuzhno-Kurilsk.3
In 2021, reviewers criticized the company for low pay, excessive demands, and treating workers “like slaves.”4 They also mentioned the difficulty of leaving the island, calling it a “dead end.”5 One employee review posted on the Russian jobs website Dreamjob.ru in 2024 that salaries had stagnated for over five years. Housing was not located near the production site.6
In April 2021, residents of Yuzhno-Kurilsk reported a foul-smelling pile of fish waste floating in the town’s bay which the district’s mayor said had come from the fish processing plant, RIA Sakhalin-Kurily reported.7 A video posted to the Telegram channel “ChP Sakhalin” labeled the incident an environmental disaster.8 The waste dumped by the processing plant was reportedly caused by equipment failure.9 Fish waste pollution was a recurring issue in Sakhalin and, even more seriously, in Kamchatka, where salmon waste was frequently discarded, causing odor and attracting bears, according to a 2021 investigation by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.10 On the morning of December 15, 2021, residents of Yuzhno-Kurilsk sounded the alarm because of an unpleasant odor in the air. The islanders suggested that the problem might have been related to the activities of the local fish processing plant. “The stench from the morning today, and not only today, around the settlement. Is it normal, and how healthy is such an odor?” wrote one resident in a social media post that was cited by local news outlet RIA Sakhalin-Kurily.11 The odor spread from the Yuzhno-Kurilsk fish factory, where a water purifying filter had failed, the city administration told RIA Sakhalin-Kurily.12
On May 4, 2022 at 2:12am, a fire broke out in the plant’s mechanical shop.13 The fire brigade extinguished it in about 90 minutes.14 A 60-year-old man was found dead at the scene.15 Authorities launched an investigation into the cause of death.16
“To be honest, I have never met such a terrible company,” said one person who reviewed the company on the mapping service 2gis.ru in 2025. “At employment they promise one salary, after employment it turns out to be less and [off the books]... This very payment is delayed for a month and after people leave, because they cannot work in debt, they are accused of violating the labor contract.”17
PCF Yuzhno-Kyrilsky Ryiboсombinat Co. Ltd. did not respond to a request for comment.18