387 
Minister of Fisheries, A. A. Ishkov, announced in 1975 that consump- 
tion would reach 18.2 kg by 1976, the final 1975 figure of 16.9 
kg falls far short. The problem seems to be one of getting the fish 
to the table of Soviet consumers, since Soviet fishermen have con- 
sistently been fulfilling and overfulfilling their catch plans. In any 
case, the Soviet consumption exceeds considerably the relatively small 
amounts of fishery products eaten in the United States (5.5 kg per 
capita in 1975). 
FISHERY EXHIBITIONS 
The first international fisheries exhibition sponsored by the Soviet 
Ministry of Fisheries was held in Leningrad in 1968. Called 
“Inrybprom-68,” the exhibition was an effort on the part of the Minis- 
try to attract foreign companies to display the latest developments 
in fisheries technology. The Ministry also took advantage of the exhibi- 
tion to show off some of its own achievements, including a display 
of innovative fishery support vessels. 
Based on the success of its predecessor, “‘Inrybprom-75” opened 
in Leningrad on August 6, 1975. The scope of this second Soviet 
international fisheries exhibition was much larger than that of the 
first. Over 400 organizations and 40 ministries and departments 
represented the U.S.S.R., while 284 foreign firms displayed fishery 
products, gear, and equipment manufactured around the world. 
The exhibition lasted only 2 weeks, but Soviet reports indicate 
that 150 million rubles (U.S. $202.7 million) in contracts were signed. 
This figure is twice as large as in 1968, when final contracts for 
the 2-week exhibit totaled only 75 million rubles (U.S. $83.3 million). 
There have been some indications that the Soviet Ministry of Fish- 
eries went on a buying spree during “‘Inrybprom-75.” For example, 
the first stages of a vessel construction project were discussed at 
the exhibition with representatives of the Polish shipbuilding industry. 
Four months later, a contract was signed to build a new class of 
fish-factory baseships in Polish shipyards. The contract, worth a 
quarter of a billion dollars, is said to be the largest in the history 
of Polish shipbuilding. The Soviets have also agreed to buy from 
Poland five supertrawlers of a completely new class, series B—400, 
the prototype of which was first displayed at “‘Inrybprom-75”’. 
The single U.S. firm participating at the exhibition, the Xodar Cor- 
poration of Rhode Island, also found the Soviets in an agreeable 
mood; Ministry of Fisheries personnel reacted enthusiastically to its 
products, which included aquaculture and filtration systems and pollu- 
tion-testing equipment. 
FOREIGN TRADE 
The expansion of the Soviet fishing fleet and the resulting increases 
in the harvest of marine products have brought about a significant 
change in that country’s foreign trade in fishery products. In 1959, 
the value of the Soviet Union’s fishery exports for the first time 
surpassed that of fishery imports, and exports have consistently ex- 
ceeded imports ever since. During the early 1960’s, when Nikita 
Krushchev was still in power, the quantity and value of Soviet fishery 
exports began to increase sharply. Except for a few reverses suffered 
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