THE SOVIET FISHING INDUSTRY: A REVIEW 
(By Milan A. Kravanja’) 
GENERAL BACKGROUND 
For centuries Russia’s marine fisheries were coastal and remained 
so during the first decades of Soviet power. In the early 1950’s, 
however, the Soviets began to expand into both Atlantic and Pacific 
high-seas fisheries. Twenty-five years later, the U.S.S.R. has become 
one of the world’s leading fishing nations. The U.S.S.R. today has 
the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet operating in all of the 
world’s oceans. The 1975 catch of 10.3 million metric tons (including 
marine mammals and other aquatic products) exceeds by more than 
6 times the 1.7 million tons harvested in 1950, and places the Soviet 
Union second among the fishing nations of the world (after Japan). 
During the past 5O years, the Soviet Union has converted its 
labor-intensive fishing industry to modern, capital-intensive fisheries. 
The number of Soviet fishermen in 1975 is estimated at approximately 
250,000, or about the same as in 1913. However, the 1913 fisheries. 
catch was slightly over 1 million metric tons, whereas the 1974 catch 
surpassed 9.6 million tons. Total employment in the fishing industry, 
including processing workers, and service and administrative person- 
nel, is about 750,000. The average yearly capital investment in fish- 
eries has grown from US$2.9 million in 1940 ‘to 'over US$1 billion 
in 1975. This figure includes total investments for new vessels, 
_ processing plants, refrigeration facilities, ports, and repair yards. 
No official plan for maritime expansion has ever been made public, 
nor can it be expected that one will be released or even acknowledged 
in the near future. It is clear, however, from the rapid and controlled 
expansion of the Soviet naval, merchant and fishing fleets, that 
guidance and planning are coming from the highest levels of the 
Soviet Government. While the specific planning details and final objec- 
tives of this expansion are not fully known, much can be inferred 
from the results. 
The Soviet fishing industry is not only an important, but is rapidly 
becoming an essential part of the contemporary Soviet food economy. 
In addition to providing a significant contribution to the nation’s food 
supplies, it is also a large user of human and material resources. 
The Soviet Government determines the proportion of the Soviet 
budget to be invested in the fishing industry, sets the production 
targets for the industry in terms of annual and 5-year plans, fixes 
the salaries of all persons employed in the fisheries, and determines 
the price of fishery products sold on domestic and foreign markets. 
Thus, the control of the fishing industry by the Soviet State is 
complete. 
‘Chief, International Fisheries Analysis Division Office of International Fisheries National Marine 
Fisheries Service, NOAA U.S. Department of Commerce, March 1976. 
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