even worse condition; only about a third of 

 the vessels is considered worthwhile to 

 upgrade and modernize. However, the 

 difficult economic situation currently facing 

 the Lithuanian Government will likely mean 

 that funding for fleet modernization and 

 replacement is unavailable. 



B. Commonwealth of Independent States 



(CIS) 



Following the dissolution of the Union of 

 Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 

 December 1991, most of the component 

 republics established a looser political 

 association called the Commonwealth. The 

 Baltic States and Georgia chose not to join 

 the CIS, so that only two republics with 

 high-seas fishing capabilities remained in the 

 CIS — the Russian Federation and Ukraine. 

 In October 1993, however, Georgia also 

 asked to become a CIS member. 



In the former Soviet Union, the fishery 

 fleets of all republics operated as a unit 

 divided only by the various fishing regions. 

 Russian, Ukrainian, and Georgian vessels all 

 fished together in any particular fishing 

 ground. The fleets were under the 

 administrative command of the regional 

 administration which organized the so-called 

 expeditions. A fleet of 30 to 40 large stern 

 factory trawlers was managed by a fleet 

 commander whose headquarters were aboard 

 a large baseship. It did not matter from 

 what Soviet republic the vessels originated, 

 they were all part of this highly-organized 

 fishing flotilla. The baseship received the 

 catch from the trawlers, processed it, and 

 passed it on to refrigerated fish carriers for 

 transportation to homeport. The 

 commander's flagship, supplied with fuel 

 and other needs by tankers and cargo 

 transports, distributed these supplies among 



its vessels. This system, which prevailed 

 for the past 40 years, was suddenly 

 disrupted by the new political arrangements. 

 Each independent country now had to 

 organize its own support and transportation 

 activities, and obtain its own fuel (Georgia 

 and Ukraine have no oil resources and must, 

 therefore, buy diesel oil from Russia or 

 other countries). In addition, the bilateral 

 agreements which were formerly negotiated 

 by the Soviet Ministry of Fisheries were no 

 longer valid. The Russian Federation, as 

 the internationally recognized successor state 

 to the Soviet Union, took over most of these 

 agreements. Ukraine and Georgia, therefore, 

 have to make their own arrangements to 

 obtain access to foreign 200-mile fishery 

 zones. Georgia is especially disadvantaged 

 because its diplomatic corps and political 

 leverage are limited. 



All three CIS countries are currently 

 undergoing a major shake-up of their 

 economic systems. In Russia, the slow 

 process of reform, until recently hindered by 

 a conservative parliament, has made 

 privatization more of a hope than a reality. 

 In Ukraine, a severe economic depression 

 has negatively affected the fishing industry. 

 According to one report, only a third of the 

 Ukrainian fishing fleet is deployed in 

 harvesting aquatic resources. No 



information is available on the fate of the 

 Georgian high-seas fleet following the 

 invasion and occupation of its main fishing 

 port of Poti by rebel troops on October 10, 

 1993. All CIS republics suffer from the 

 inability to provide their fishing fleets with 

 sufficient quantities of diesel fuel in a timely 

 manner. Confirmed reports indicate that at 

 times as much as a half of the Russian fleet 

 was idling in various ports because of fuel 

 shortages. Other reports describe an even 

 worse situation whereby vessels already 



