This system was in force in 1991 when 

 the Latvian Republic became independent and 

 ceased to be under the operational command 

 of ZAPRYBA. At this time, the Latvian 

 fishing fleet appeared to be poorly maintained 

 and included many obsolete vessels. The new 

 Latvian Government, therefore, commissioned 

 the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) to review 

 its industries, including the fisheries sector. 



The NIB's"* report pointed out that the 

 fishing fleet was in poor condition when 

 compared to the average standards of Western 

 fishing nations. The Bank estimated that 

 nearly one half of the fishing vessels deployed 

 in the Baltic Sea and on the high-seas was 

 obolete. 



The processing fleet was in even worse 

 condition; only about a third of the vessels 

 was considered worthwhile to upgrade and 

 modernize. The NIB, however, also 

 estimated that some upgrading could be done 

 with relatively modest investments which 

 were estimated as follows: 



The Baltic Fleet: The Baltic Fleet could be 

 modernized at about $40,000 per vessel, and 

 the catch level of this restructured fleet 

 maintained with about half of the current 

 number of vessels. The NIB estimated that 

 the total investment needed was $6 million. 



The High-seas Fleet: The modernization of 

 the high-seas fleet would require an estimated 

 $15 million, mostly for modern fish-finding 

 and navigational equipment. 



The Distant-water Support Fleet: The 

 upgrading of the distant-water processing fleet 

 and support vessels, however, would be more 

 costly, and was estimated at $100 million. 



To improve the situation, the Latvian 

 Government arranged for several Western 

 groups to discuss vessel modernization 

 projects with local managers. Despite several 

 attempts at joint ventures and various 

 feasibility studies, no actual investment 

 projects have been carried out as far as is 

 known. 



The NIB report listed the 1991 composition of 

 the fleet as: Trawler fleet-91 vessels. Fish- 

 processing FIeet-31 vessels. Transport Fleet- 

 21 vessels, Baltic Fleet-208 vessels. Total 

 fleet = 351 vessels. 



B. 1992 



Most of the distant-water fishing fleet was 

 idled in Baltic ports during 1992 because of a 

 lack of fuel and because the traditional 

 grounds of the Latvian fishing fleet were no 

 longer accessible. The fleet's operations were 

 especially hard hit after the newly- 

 independent Namibia declared a moratorium 

 on foreign fishing in its 200-mile zone. 

 African waters were in fact the most 

 important fishing area for the Latvian distant- 

 water fleet. The closure of the West Saharan 

 fishing grounds (following Morocco's 

 annexation of that territory) was especially 

 painful as up to one-half of the Latvian high- 

 seas fleet fished there. The initial shock, 

 however, was dissipated somewhat towards 

 the end of 1992 when the activities of the 

 newly-organized Ministry of Maritime 

 Affairs, and the increased diplomatic efforts 

 of the new Latvian Government, secured 

 renewed access to several traditional Atlantic 

 grounds. 



C. 1993 



At the beginning of 1993, the Latvian 

 fishing fleet numbered 277 vessels. Of this 



49 



