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OVERVIEW 



The fishing fleets of the Baltic states, Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of 

 Independent States harvested approximately 9.8 million tons of fish and shellfish in 1991 

 (slightly under 10 percent of the world catch). The Commonwealth of Independent States 

 fishermen landed over 9.2 million tons. The Russian Federation alone harvested 6.7 million tons 

 of this total. The remainder was caught by Baltic, Ukrainian, and Georgian fishermen. East 

 European countries (Poland, Romania and Bulgaria) caught 0.6 million tons; their catch has 

 decreased drastically in recent years. 



These countries have 4,113 fishing vessels registering 8.8 million gross registered tons 

 (CRT) in 1993. This includes 2,778 high-seas vessels (those having over 500 CRT) registering 

 8.6 million CRT, as highlighted in table 1. This high-seas fleet consists of some of the largest 

 fishing vessels in the world; the gross tonnage of the individual vessels averages 3,090 CRT per 



vessel! 



This fleet of large vessels poses a potential problem to managers of living resources around 

 the world. Its fishermen can quickly target stocks of fish anywhere in the world and have the 

 potential to overfish these resources in a short period of time. The dissolution of the Soviet 

 Union has resulted in a sharp lessening of controls over these fleets; many vessels now operate 

 independently. It is difficult, if not impossible, to follow the movements of these hundreds of 

 huge fishing vessels. 



These countries have been reducing their registries by reflagging vessels to other countries 

 in the last 2 to 3 years. The three Baltic states reflagged 16 vessels with a total tonnage of 

 38,382 CRT. Poland is known to have reflagged 28 vessels, but Romania and Bulgaria have 

 not reflagged any, while 26 high-seas vessels (160,408 CRT) from Russia and 6 vessels (18,945 

 CRT) from Ukraine were reflagged. 



These former Communist countries are currently experiencing profound economic and 

 political changes. The once tightly administered fishing fleets of these countries are undergoing 

 privatization and are attempting to establish fishing operations wherever possible. Many vessels 

 are seeking new opportunities in distant fishing grounds under bilateral agreements, joint 

 ventures, or as chartered vessels. It is difficult to account for all of the adjustments currently 

 being made in these huge fishing fleets as the situation is changing constantly, while the fishery 

 authorities remain tight-lipped about them. 



