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Havana fishing port was officially opened on July 26, 1966. The 
Soviet Ministry of Fisheries, in return for constructing the facilities, 
has the right to use the port of Havana for servicing its fishing fleet. 
This agreement expires July 26, 1976, but is expected to be extended. 
Besides their regular points of transshipment and refueling, Soviet 
ships regularly call at other ports of the world as well. Until the 
late 1960’s, the United States denied Soviet fishing vessels entry into 
its ports except in emergencies. After extensive negotiations, an agree- 
ment was reached in 1967 allowing four Soviet vessels to call once 
a month at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. 
The Soviets imitated Japan in the manner of their distant-water 
fishery operations: an “‘expeditionary flotilla” is set up with as marry 
as 100-150 vessels, its own Fleet Manager, and its own logistic supply. 
While most of the vessels fish, the motherships stand by to accept 
primary or semiprocessed catch and supply the fishing fleet with daily 
necessities and information on where the best fishing is available. 
The latter data are collected continuously by exploratory research 
and scientific research vessels accompanying the fleets. 
FLEET INVESTMENTS 
During the last 30 years, since the end of World War II, the Soviet 
Union has invested an estimated 8 billion rubles in adding new fishing 
and fishery support vessels to its antiquated and inefficient prewar 
fleet. 
The capital investments in the fishery fleet have almost doubled 
during each of the 5-year planning periods. However, during the last 
5 Year Plan (1971-75), the total amount was so large (an estimated 
3 billion rubles) that doubling it would have resulted in the construc- 
tion of more fishing vessels than the Soviet Ministry of Fisheries 
could find crews to man, or facilities to support. 
During the next 5 Year Plan (1976-80), capital investments for 
the construction, or purchase abroad, of new fishing vessels will be 
considerably smaller (possibly as much as the one-third smaller) than 
during the 1971-75 period. 
Many new vessels will be replacements for older vessels built 20 
to 25 years ago and now ready for retirement. The buildup of the 
high seas fishing fleet will be deemphasized in view of the new realities 
of the “post 200-mile fishing limits world”. More smaller vessels, 
suitable for coastal operations, will be built. Processing vessels with 
more automation, more modern plants and greater efficiency will be 
required to provide better quality fishery products; most of them 
will probably be bought from Polish or West European shipyards. 
The folly of building the giant 33,000 gross-ton mothership with 14 
catcher vessels on board (the Vostok) will most likely not be repeated. 
The Vostok (built in the Leningrad Shipyards) was the idea of Soviet 
Fisheries Minister Ishkov and proved an expensive failure, both in 
its efficiency and in the productivity of its piggyback catcher boats. 
FISHERMEN’S PRODUCTIVITY 
No reliable statistical data or standards for measuring the produc- 
tivity of Soviet fishermen, or comparing it to the productivity of 
fishermen of other countries exist. 
