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Soviet Union [USSR] Fishing
Fish has always been a prominent part of the Soviet diet. Until
the mid-1950s, the bulk of the Soviet catch came from inland lakes,
rivers, and coastal waters. Thereafter, the Soviet Union launched
an ambitious program to develop the world's largest oceangoing
fishing fleet, which consisted of 4,222 ships in 1986. The Soviet
Union became the world's second leading fish producer, trailing
Japan by a small margin throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1986
Soviet production amounted to 11.4 million tons, most of which was
caught in marine fisheries.
The Atlantic Ocean supplied 49.2 percent of the total catch in
1980, while the Pacific Ocean yielded 41.3 percent. The Caspian,
Black, Azov, and Aral seas, suffering from lowered water levels,
increased salinity, and pollution, became relatively less important
fisheries in the 1970s and 1980s. Whereas Murmansk had been the one
large fishing port before the expansion of the oceangoing fleet, by
1980 there were twenty-three such ports, the largest of which were
Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Kaliningrad, Archangel, Klaipeda, Riga,
Tallin, Sevastopol', and Kerch'. In 1982 more than 96 percent of
the frozen fish, 45 percent of the canned fish, 60 percent of the
fish preserve, and 94 percent of the fish meal delivered to market
was processed at sea by large, modern factory ships.
Because of the worldwide trend of claiming 200-mile territorial
waters, total fish production fell after 1977. The open Pacific was
viewed as a promising fishery to offset reduced production in
coastal waters, which had been yielding up to 60 percent of the
Soviet catch. Inland fisheries also began to receive more
attention, and fish farming was promoted as ponds were established
close to urban centers. Between 1961 and 1980, the production of
fresh fish by such enterprises increased by over 8.8 times,
reaching 158,300 tons. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan called for pond
fish production to be tripled.
Data as of May 1989
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