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level determined by the Institute of Nutrition, will be completely 
satisfied when the consumption of fishery products will reach ‘‘20-22 
kilograms in 1975.” %9 
In July 1975, however, Mr. Ishkov as much as admitted that the 
original planned goal will not be reached. Writing in honor of the 
annual Fishermen’s Day, he casually mentioned that in 1975 the per 
capita fisheries consumption will reach the levels determined by the 
nutritionists, or 18.2 kg per year.*° He also predicted that the 20 
kg level will be reached in a few years. 
The question remains: what will the Soviet Government and the 
Fisheries Ministry do after the estimated domestic demand of 20-22 
kg of fishery products per capita will be fully satisfied? This will 
most likely occur by 1977-78 if an expected fisheries catch of 11-12 
million metric tons can be obtained. Will the Ministry allow the 
catches to stabilize and level off? Current plans for the construction 
of new fishery vessels seem to indicate that the future years will 
see a continuing increase in the fisheries catch, provided the world 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of fishery stocks is not reached 
too soon and the extension of fishery limits to 200 miles does not 
deprive the Soviet fishermen of their most important fishing grounds. 
Catches larger than 12 million tons will probably induce the Soviet 
traders to increase exports of fishery products even more than in 
the past. In 1959, the U.S.S.R. reversed its former position as a 
net importer of such products and became a net exporter. By 1970, 
Soviet fishery exports exceeded the imports by $76 million; by 1974 
the difference amounted to $142 million. 
There is some evidence that the Soviet Union is now gearing for 
a major fishery export campaign of which the International Fisheries 
Exhibition in Leningrad was one of the first steps. Other initiatives 
are being taken throughout the world to increase contacts between 
Soviet fishery attaches and other trade and diplomatic representatives 
to secure additional export opportunities in developing and developed 
countries. 
The most recent figures on fisheries consumption in the U.S.S.R. 
were announced by Deputy Minister of Fisheries for Research Sergei 
Studenetskii in early 1976.41 According to his data, which are not 
as yet official government statistics, the 1975 per capita consumption 
of fish in the Soviet Union was 16.9 kg. This figure is well below 
the 18.2 kg mentioned by Mr. Ishkov in July 1975, and seems to 
indicate a serious problem in getting fish to the table of the Soviet 
consumer. For example, if this 16.9 kg figure is correct, then only 
41.5 percent of the total live weight of the Soviet catch in 1975 
(10.3 million metric tons) was consumed by the Soviet public. The 
remaining 58.5 percent was either exported, stored, used for nonedible 
products (fishmeal, oil, etc.), or else went to waste. Mr. Studenetskii, 
in his announcement, gave no explanation for the failure to reach 
in 1975 the 18.2 kg per capita consumption of fishery products so 
39 Rybnoe Khoziaistvo, May 1973, pp. 3-5. 
4° “Tt was scientifically determined that 18.2 kilograms of fishery products is the optimal yearly 
requirement for the average Soviet citizen. This year the fishing industry will meet this requirement 
and in the next 2 or 3 years will reach an amount in excess of 20 kilograms (of fishery products per 
capita).’’ In: Vodnii Transport, July 12, 1975. 
41 Moscow Radio, Jan. 14, 1976. 
