522 
tric plants. General capacity of these hatcheries was projected 
to be 318 million young fish per year. 
There is evidence that progress has been significant since the above 
plans were formulated in the 1960’s. At the Pacific Research Institute 
of Fisheries Economy and the Institute of Marine Biology in 
Vladivostok, a series of experiments are being carried out to breed 
many marine fish and plants such as marine algae, scallops, and 
oysters. Considerable progress has been made in the artificial breeding 
of the Atlantic and Pacific salmon. Several nurseries of the breeding 
of these fish are producing millions of fry annually. The commercial 
exploitation of artificially bred salmon is increasing. Along with Japan 
and the United States, the Soviet Union is now one of the largest 
producers of salmon fry in the world. 79 
In 1972, an experimental farm was established in Posiet Bay near 
Vladivostok for the cultivation of scallops, oysters, and various species 
of fish. In the near future, this region will become one of the largest 
centers for the development of fish culture in the Soviet Union. *° 
In Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea and along the Baltic coast, fish 
have been. grown in sea ponds for more than 2 years. Each acre 
of water has yielded up to 12 metric tons of herbivorous fish, carp, 
and a sturgeon hybrid. Trout grown in brackish ponds along the 
Baltic Sea develop 1% to 2 times faster than in fresh water.*! 
A whole network of marine fish breeding farms will soon be built 
in the Soviet Union in order to reduce the commercial fishing of 
certain depleted and endangered species. Emphasis will be placed 
on the artificial breeding of marine fish to supplement natural popula- 
tions as well as the commercial exploitation of captive stocks.” 
Soviet officials have predicted that maritime areas will be utilized 
for aquaculture “‘up to a depth of 100 yards and up to 1 mile off 
shore by the end of the century’’.*? These ambitious plans will require 
substantial research and development investment by the Soviet 
Government. Such an investment will evidently require fiscal support 
far greater than any projected U.S. involvement in aquaculture, which 
is presently less than $10 million per year. It would therefore appear 
that the future contribution of aquaculture to the Soviet economy, 
already large, will increase substantially. Whether the increased 
emphasis on aquaculture will be at the expense of Soviet fisheries 
programs is open to speculation. It is clear, however, that the Soviet 
emphasis on aquaculture anticipates that the production potential of 
fisheries will continue to dwindle while the demand for fisheries 
products will continue to increase. The Soviets have chosen aquacul- 
ture to fill that projected supply-versus-demand gap. 
ae Dopenay S. Aquaculture in the Soviet Union. Op. cit. 
80 Ibid. 
1 Tbid. 
32 Ibid. 
38 Unsigned. Marine Fish Management. October 1975, p. 3. 
