1991 obtained a large annual catch quota of 

 850,000 metric tons (t). In 1992, the 

 Russian Federation renegotiated the former 

 Soviet accord and managed to obtain a 3- 

 year agreement allowing it to net 400,000 t 

 of sardines and mackerel annually.^ 

 Morocco, however, chose not to conclude a 

 similar agreement with the now independent 

 Baltic states (or with Ukraine). 



More positive are fishery relations with 

 the European Community (EC) which, 

 during the past 2 decades, did not allow 

 Soviet vessels to fish in its Exclusive 

 Economic Zone (EEZ). This policy was 

 revised in early 1992 and the Baltic states 

 initialed agreements with the EC in July 

 1992. Lithuania signed in Vilnius on July 

 14, Latvia in Riga on July 16, and Estonia 

 in Tallinn on July 17. If the respective 

 parliaments ratified these agreements, they 

 would have become effective in 1993. The 

 accords provide for reciprocal access to 

 respective fishing zones, financial 

 contributions for fishermen's training, and 

 the establishment of joint ventures.^ 



These agreements should also facilitate 

 the admittance of the Baltic states into the 

 Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission, and the 



granting of catch quotas allowing them to 

 fish in that sea. Unfortunately, Russia is 

 claiming successor state rights for the quotas 

 previously allocated to the former Soviet 

 Union, and, even if the Baltic States gain 

 admittance to the Commission, there may be 

 a dearth of available resources. There have 

 been calls from the International 

 Commission for the Exploration of the Seas 

 (ICES) for a 1993 moratorium on Baltic cod 

 and from Greenpeace for a complete 

 moratorium on Baltic salmon. 



The agreement with the EC was strongly 

 supported by Denmark which soon 

 promoted its own bilateral arrangements. 

 The Danish Government has approved a 

 DK50 million (US$ 7.5 million) grant to the 

 3 newly independent Baltic countries. These 

 funds will buy 6,000 t of Baltic Sea herring 

 which will be donated to Latvia, Lithuania, 

 and Estonia, in equal amounts of 2,000 t 

 each. The herring will be caught by Danish 

 fishermen from the island of Bornholm 

 (which is going to help the serious 

 unemployment among the fishermen there), 

 paid for by the Danish Government and then 

 donated to the Baltic countries which will 

 send their own refrigerated transports to 

 pick it up. One half of the total amount will 

 be donated to the Baltics in whole, frozen 

 form, while the other half will be headed 

 and gutted; some herring might even be 

 filleted in local Bornholm fish-processing 

 plants. The Danes stipulated in the 

 memorandum of understanding that the 

 donated fish can be used only for domestic 

 consumption in the Baltic states, but the 

 end-products may be exported to members 

 of the Commonwealth of Independent States 

 and other East European countries except to 

 the former German Democratic Republic 

 (which is now united with West Germany)." 

 The Baltic Governments will charge their 

 fish-procesing plants a small administrative 

 fee and transportation costs. Any profits 

 obtained from the sale of the canned or 

 smoked products will be used to modernize 

 antiquated processing equipment. Such 

 purchases have already been made in 

 Denmark mostly for updated, used 

 processing equipment. 



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