MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The fishing industry is one of the key sectors of the Russian economy and is currently undergoing large-scale modernization, Aide to the Russian President Nikolay Patrushev said, drawing attention to the transformation of the structure of fish exports.

"The country's leadership sets goals to strengthen leadership in the world markets for fish products. The significant transformation of international economic relations forces us to look for new ways to maintain export potential. Measures are being taken to increase trade turnover with friendly countries and to create stable trade and economic relations with them," he said.

Patrushev, who is in charge of national maritime policy, noted that "the fishing industry, which is one of the key sectors of the Russian economy, is entering a period of large-scale modernization." He also noted that one of the priorities is to reconstruct existing and construct new capacities of the fishing complex, to upgrade the fishing fleet and the equipment of fish processing enterprises, to create a new port and logistics infrastructure, as well as to expand scientific research areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier also spoke about the need to pay attention to the fishing industry, noting the importance of building fishing vessels and creating convenient infrastructure for the industry.