A leading traditional sector in the 

 Latvian economy, the fishing industry used to 

 employ 48,000 persons, according to the 

 Latvian Ministry of Maritime Affairs'. The 

 Latvian fishing industry is based mostly in the 

 fishing port of Riga. The other port, 

 extensively used by the fishing industry, is 

 located at Liepaja. 



The fishing industry contributed almost 

 500 million rubles to the Latvian economy in 

 1990. The value of fishery exports amounted 

 to 359 million rubles, which represented 75 

 percent of the total volume of fisheries 

 output.^ 



II. FISHING FLEET 



The Latvian fishing fleet consisted of 

 35 1 fishing and fishery support vessels as the 

 Soviet Union was breaking up in 1991. The 

 three Baltic Soviet republics each had their 

 own fishing fleet. Latvia's fleet was by far 

 the largest, comprising almost 50 percent of 

 the 762 vessels based in the ports of the Baltic 

 republics.^ 



The high-seas fleet, owned by the 

 Government, is fishing primarily in the 

 Atlantic, both northern and southern. The 

 principal fishing grounds are off Canada, 

 Mauritania, Nigeria, the Faroe Islands and 

 Russia. The Government, however, is 

 exploring the possibility of concluding 

 additional agreements with other coastal 

 countries. The main species landed by the 

 high-seas fleet are mackerel, horse mackerel, 

 squid, and redfish. The Latvian high-seas 

 fishing fleet consists of 3 different types of 

 vessels: distant-water trawlers, fish- 

 processors, and refrigerated transports. 



Latvia also has a coastal fleet of small 

 tonnage vessels, privately owned by 

 fishermen's cooperatives. Their owners fish 

 the Baltic Sea, both in the Latvian Exclusive 

 Economic Zone (EEZ), and in the EEZs of 

 other Baltic countries with whom Latvia has 

 concluded bilateral fishery agreements. Sprat 

 and cod are the principal species landed from 

 Baltic waters. 



A. 1991 



The Latvian fleet, operating for 40 

 years under the system of the Soviet 

 expeditionary fishing fleets, organized its own 

 fishing expeditions consisting of high-seas 

 trawlers supported by motherships, fish- 

 processors, tankers, water supply vessels, and 

 other support craft. 



Pholo I.— A 14.00-GRT processsing baseship, built in Russia 

 supplies Latvian high-seas fishermen. 



This fleet was fishing under the overall 

 command of the Western Fisheries 

 Administration (ZAPRYBA). A ZAPRYBA 

 fleet commander, usually located aboard one 

 of the large motherships, was responsible for 

 day-to-day operations and for the transfer of 

 fish to motherships for processing, or to 

 refrigerated transports for delivery to home 

 ports. 



46 



