4.3 



POLAND 



The Polish fishing industry, which expanded its operations into the world's oceans in the 

 1960s and 1970s, is currently in a state of severe crisis. Fishery landings, which peaked in 1975 

 at 800,000 metric tons, have decreased to only 514,000 tons in 1992. Once numerous fishing 

 grounds of the Polish high-seas fleet have now shrunk to a major fishery in the Pacific 

 Northwest and two smaller fishing operations off the Falkland Islands and in Antarctica. The 

 Pacific fishery, however, is in danger of being closed down by insistent Russian demands for 

 a fishing moratorium to prevent overfishing. Limited fishing opportunities have forced the 

 Polish companies to reduce the number of their vessels; during the last 7 years these companies 

 sold 48 vessels to fishermen from 13 other countries. Only 53 stern trawlers are now engaged 

 in high-seas fishing and their number is expected to continue decreasing. The Polish fishing 

 industry, accustomed to substantial financial subsidies from the government, and to regulated 

 prices for fishery products, has had to learn to do without them. Price regulation ended in 1989 

 and most subsidies were discontinued in 1990. The entry into a partially free-market system has 

 caused severe problems for both high-seas and Baltic fishing companies which now have to rely 

 almost exclusively on market forces to survive in a highly competitive environment. 



CONTENTS 



I. Background 210 



II. Fishing Fleet 213 



A. High-seas Fleet 215 



B. Fleet Reduction 215 



C. Construction of Fishing Vessels 216 



D. Subsidies 217 



E. Competition 218 



III. High-seas Fishery Catch 218 



IV. High-seas Fishing Grounds 220 



V. High-seas Fishing Companies 221 



VI. Fisheries Administration 223 



VII. Bilateral Agreements 224 



VIII. Joint Ventures 227 



IX. Outlook 228 



Sources 229 



Endnotes 230 



Appendices 235 



