2.3 



LATVIA 



Latvia has recently become independent after being part of the Soviet Union for almost 

 five decades. Latvia's fishing industry, which was part of the centrally planned economy, 

 directed by the Soviet Ministry of Fisheries in Moscow, had to readjust quickly to the new free- 

 market demands. Latvia also had to secure arrangements for access to fishing grounds in 

 foreign 200-mile zones. Most importantly, it can no longer count on cheap, subsidized diesel 

 oil, but has to purchase it with foreign currencies. The difficult transition from a command to 

 a free-market economy has been exacerbated by the need to reorganize the administrative staff 

 following the dissolution of the Soviet Western Fisheries Administration in Riga. Among the 

 most important factors for the future profitability of the Latvian fishing industry is the 

 privatization program which its Government has begun. 



CONTENTS 



I. Background 45 



II. Fishing Fleet 46 



A. 1991 46 



B. 1992 49 



C. 1993 49 



III. High-seas Fleet Dispersal 50 



IV. Fishery Support Fleet 53 



V. Fleet Reduction 53 



VI. Fishing Grounds 53 



VII. Catch and Production 54 



VIII. Fishing Companies 54 



IX. Bilaterals and Joint Ventures 55 



X. Outlook 56 



Sources 56 



Endnotes 57 



Appendices 59 



has a population of 2.7 million people. Its 

 I. BACKGROUND land area encompasses 64,600 square 



kilometers, while its coastline extends for 531 



Latvia, one of the three Baltic kilometers. Over one third of the population 



countries which became independent in 1991, lives in the capital, Riga, which has 915,000 



inhabitants. 



45 



