450 
CONSUMPTION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS 
WHY MORE FISH PROTEINS? 
The marine fishery resources in 1974 were the source of an esti- 
mated one sixth of the total edible protein of animal origin consumed 
by the ever-increasing world population, according to the Deputy 
Director of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Soviet Acade- 
my of Sciences.** Of this total, the Soviet Union harvested about 
12-13 percent, a figure considerably above the proportion of its popu- 
lation (251 million in 1974) to the estimated world population of 
about 3 billion souls. 
The Soviet fisheries catch per capita has increased in almost every 
year of the Soviet Union’s history, keeping pace with increasing popu- 
lation. In 1975, over 40 kilograms per Soviet citizen of fish, shellfish, 
and other aquatic animals were caught compared to 10 kilograms 
in 1950, an increase of 300 percent. (See table 1.) The Soviet expan- 
sion of the fishing industry has been both dramatic and consistent, 
and the decision of the leadership of the country to encourage such 
an expansion is traceable directly to domestic requirements for food. 
The Soviet agricultural sector which, since the 1930’s has been a 
weak link in the Soviet economy, was especially depressed in the 
years immediately after the World War II because heavy battle losses 
of young men have made male farm manpower almost unavailable. 
In addition, the Soviet Party, faced with the task of rebuilding basic 
industries destroyed in war, was slow in promoting the development 
of its agricultural sector (peasants were traditionally a conservative 
element in the Soviet society). Thus, the decision by the Soviet 
Government to turn to fishery products as an increasingly important 
source of animal protein was made primarily for economic reasons, 
but political and strategic reasons probably also played a part. 
Soviet writers have explained in some detail why it was economically 
advantageous for the Soviet Union to turn to fisheries. S. V. Mik- 
hailov, writing in the Okeanologiia,*® stated that “‘to produce 100 
kilograms of live-weight beef, it takes a capital investment of 
2,000-2,500 rubles. But for a similar amount of fish only about 
1,500-1,700 rubles are necessary.”” One must remember that arable 
land is a relatively modest proportion of the total surface area of 
the U.S.S.R., a country where permafrost, deserts and dense forests 
extend for thousands of miles. The growing season is subject to severe 
climactic extremes, and, in drought or flood years, crops may be 
severely damaged. 
35Dr. A. A. Aksenov writing in Vodnii Transport of June 18, 1974. 
36 Okeanologiia (1962), pp. 385-7. 
