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DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES

FISHERIES

FISHERIES IN POLAND

NOTE

This document was requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries.

AUTHOR

Jesús Iborra Martín Policy Department on Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament E-mail: [email protected]

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Virginija Kelmelyté

LANGUAGE VERSIONS

Original: ES. Translations: DE, EN, FR, IT, PL, PT.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter, please write to: [email protected]

Manuscript completed in April 2011. Brussels, © European Parliament, 2011

This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies

DISCLAIMER

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament.

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy.

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES

FISHERIES

FISHERIES IN POLAND

NOTE

Content:

Information note on the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Poland for the Delegation of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries from 16 May 2011 to 20 May 2011. The note describes the Baltic Sea, fisheries in Poland and related activities.

IP/B/PECH/NT/2011_02 April 2011

PE 460.037 EN

Fisheries in Poland

CONTENTS

INDEX OF TABLES 4 INDEX OF GRAPHS 5 INDEX OF MAPS 6 1. INTRODUCTION 7 2. GEOGRAPHICAL FRAMEWORK 11 2.1. Political and administrative structure 11 2.2. Physical environment 12 2.3. The Baltic Sea 13 3. ECONOMIC ROLE OF FISHERIES 19 4. PRODUCTION 21 4.1. Maritime Fisheries 21 4.2. Inland fisheries and aquaculture 25 5. CHANGE IN THE FISHERIES SECTOR 27 6. FISHING FLEET 31 6.1. Structure of the Polish fleet 31 6.2. Fishing gear 36 6.3. Structural adjustment of the Polish fishing fleet 36 6.4. Regional distribution of the fishing fleet 40 7. PORTS 43 8. THE PROCESSING INDUSTRY 45 9. MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION 47 10. EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND 51 11. INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE BALTIC 53 11.1 IBSFC 53 11.2. HELSINKI COMMISSION 53 11.3. BALTIC 21 (Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region) 55 12. RESEARCH 57

3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

INDEX OF TABLES

Table 1: Regions of Poland 12

Table 2: Licences for cod fishing 24

Table 3: Change in the Polish fishing fleet (as at 31 Dec each year) 31

Table 4: Comparison of the Polish and EU-27 fishing fleets 32

Table 5: Polish fleet. January 2009 32

Table 6: Polish fishing fleet as a proportion of the EU-27 fleet by vessel length 35

Table 7: Fishing gear in the Polish fleet 36

Table 8: Regional distribution of the Polish fishing fleet (December 2010) 40

Table 9: Main ports of fleet registration 44

Table 10: Operational Programme 2007-2013 51

4 Fisheries in Poland

INDEX OF GRAPHS

Graph 1: Comparison of primary productivity in the Baltic and North Seas 16

Graph 2: Employment in Poland 19

Graph 3: Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for Poland in the Baltic Sea 22

Graph 4: Catches by the Polish fleet 27

Graph 5: Change in the Polish high-seas fleet 34

Graph 6: Change in the Polish fishing fleet 2004 = 100 37

Graph 7: Polish fleet. Percentage of the ceiling under the entry/exit regime 38

Graph 8: Polish fleet as a proportion of the EU-25 fleet 39

Graph 9: Comparison of the principal parameters of the Polish and EU-25 fleets 39

Graph 10: Production of processed fishery products 46

Graph 11: Poland's external trade in fishery products 49

Graph 12: Average prices of imports and exports of fishery products 50

5 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

INDEX OF MAPS

Map 1: Topography of Poland 13

Map 2: Baltic Sea 14

Map 3: Depth of the Baltic and the flow of salt water 15

Map 4: Regional distribution of the Polish fishing fleet 41

Map 5: Principal fishing ports in Poland 43

6 Fisheries in Poland

1. INTRODUCTION

The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea of brackish water which is open to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak Straits. Its shallowness and small link to the ocean mean that the exchange of waters is very slow and conducive to pollution. The salinity of the Baltic is very low, productivity is very high, and eutrophication is an ongoing problem.

Despite its relatively low contribution to the Polish economy, fishing plays an important role in the economy and society of coastal areas and is a very important industry in three regions (Pomerania, Western Pomerania and Varmia-Masuria), especially in the area of Kashubia.

Catches have plummeted since 1988 (628 026 t) to 179 309 t in 2008. Almost 90% of catches in the Northeast Atlantic are from the Baltic, with the remainder from the Atlantic Ocean. Catches are chiefly of sprat. Secondary species are herring, cod and sole and flat fish. There are also catches of krill in the Antarctic, but they are in continual decline compared to the levels of the second half of the 1990s.

Over the last 20 years the Polish fishing fleet has undergone intense structural adjustment. In the wake of the crisis caused by restrictions on access to fishing grounds, the Polish fleet suffered in the fall-out from the process of the country’s economic transformation. Moreover, prior to accession to the European Union, further fleet reduction was implemented. The problems were, however, far from being resolved, as was illustrated by the issues arising from the overshoot of the cod quota in 2007. That situation, which stemmed from a lack of profitability among some segments of the fleet, paved the way for a number of national action programmes in which fleet management had a key role.

The Portuguese fishing fleet comprises mainly small, ageing vessels. In December 2010 there were 794 vessels in the Polish fishing fleet. Of these, 598 (75% of the fleet) were less than 12 m in length. More than half the fleet is obsolete in technical terms and has difficulty making a profit against a background of scarce resources and expensive fuel. Only 1% of vessels in the EU-27 fishing fleet are registered in Poland, and the Polish fleet accounts only for 6% of the tonnage in gross tonnes and 6% of total power.

The Polish fishing fleet is generally regarded as being divided into three main sectors:

 coastal fishing, the activity conducted by 643 vessels between 3 m and 16 m in length within the limits of territorial waters in the Vistula and Szczecin lagoons;  the 161 vessels between 16 m and 32 m long inclusive, which fish in the Baltic and to a lesser extent in the Northeast Atlantic; and  high-seas fishing conducted in distant fishing-grounds on the high seas by four vessels longer than 32 m.

The most used types of main gear are set or anchored gillnets (62% of vessels), pots (15%) and bottom trawls (14%). Gillnets and pots are typical of small-scale coastal fishing, whereas bottom trawls are used more by the fleet of medium-sized vessels fishing in the Baltic. Although only 4% of vessels use pelagic trawls, they account for 63% of total tonnage and 29% of power.

7 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

The larger vessels are registered at the ports in the region of Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot. Although only 6% of all vessels in the Polish fleet are registered there, they account for 60% of the fleet’s total tonnage and 26% of total power.

At the other end of the scale are the regions of Elblaski and Szczecinski. The combined figures for these two regions show that 28% of all vessels in the Polish fleet are registered there, yet they account for only 5% of total tonnage and 13% of power. These two regions are the location of the bulk of the segment of the fleet involved in small-scale coastal fishing in the Szczecin and Masuria lagoons and have few or no vessels in the Baltic fleet.

The segment of the fleet which could be regarded as most representative of the Baltic fishery is, however, based at the ports of Gdańsk, Slupski and Koszalinski. Some 66% of all vessels in the Polish fleet operate from these three regions, accounting for 35% of total tonnage and 61% of power.

There are 59 landing points on the Polish Baltic Sea coast, including fishing ports and other places regarded as fishing ports. The three main fishing ports are Władysławowo, Kołobrzeg and Hel, where 75% of all landings are made.

Approximately half the landing points are on beaches and have few facilities. There are ten larger fishing ports for larger vessels, especially those longer than 16 m. • On the west coast: Świnoujście, Dziwnów; • On the central coast: Kołobrzeg, Darłowo, Ustka, Leba; • On the east coast: Władysławowo, Jastarnia, Hel, Gdynia.

The processing industry produces some 220 000 tonnes, and production of smoked fish is growing. Demand still outstrips local production and the Polish fish processing industry now depends on imports of raw materials. The production by factories of smoked, gravad and cured fish is dependent to a large extent on imported raw materials. Canning plants work with Polish fish (sprat and herring) as well as imports (chiefly herring, Atlantic mackerel and salmon). Imported frozen herring is used as the raw material for smoked and canned fish. White fish, such as Alaskan pollock, hake and Baltic cod are used principally in producing frozen products.

Consumption in Poland of fish and fish by-products is low. It is half the average for the European Union. Nonetheless the fall in fish prices and changes in consumer preferences are stimulating consumption, especially of marine species.

Herring is traditionally the most consumed fish in Poland. In recent years, however, the Alaskan pollock has been challenging for the number one spot. Furthermore, consumption of pangasius is growing rapidly because of its low price. Consumption of salmon and tuna is also on the rise, although at a much lower rate. Hake consumption is falling, however. The most important freshwater species is the carp.

There are four first sale fish auctions and six producer organisations. Of these, one concentrates on inland aquaculture and one on high-seas fisheries. The others are for local and coastal fishery producers.

The significant fluctuation in prices at fishing ports is a problem. The fluctuations reflect sudden increases in supply, or lack of capacity at the port to act as a business outlet or process the volume of supply. The link between fishermen and the rest of the value chain at the first sale at the landing point is inadequate. Fish auctions at fish markets are

8 Fisheries in Poland

inadequately developed. In turn, the lack of specialist wholesalers in the major cities restricts the distribution of fresh fish.

Fish is marketed in over 1 200 establishments ranging from specialist shops to supermarkets and hypermarkets. The proliferation of supermarket chains encourages better distribution and greater consumption of fresh fish. The largest hypermarkets include a wide variety of fresh, frozen and processed fish among their wares and allocate a relatively large area to fish sales.

External trade in fish and fish by-products constitutes a significant proportion of Poland’s trade in foodstuffs and agricultural products. Poland has a deficit in external trade in fishery products.

The Operational Programme ‘Sustainable Development of the Fisheries Sector and Coastal Fishing Areas 2007-2013’ sets out the guidelines for the use of structural funds in Poland. The axis allocated the greatest funding was axis 4 (sustainable development of fisheries areas), with 32% of the total. Axis 1 (adjustment of fishing effort) attracted the second-largest sum, with 23%, while investment and measures of common interest were each allocated 20% and technical assistance just 5%. Now that over half the programming period for the operational programme has been completed, it is clear that implementation is uneven; indeed, for some axes it is very low or even non-existent. The axes where most progress has been made in terms of implementation are adjustment of the fishing effort, investment in aquaculture, processing and marketing, and measures of common interest.

There are two scientific institutes in Poland which conduct fisheries research: the Sea Fisheries Institute at Gdynia, and the Inland Fisheries Institute at Olsztyn. Other centres for marine research are the Faculty of Marine Fisheries at the Academy of Agriculture, Szczecin; the Maritime University, also in Szczecin; the Institute of Oceanology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot; and the Marine Biology Centre at the Polish Academy of Sciences at Gdynia.

9 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

10 Fisheries in Poland

2. GEOGRAPHICAL FRAMEWORK

Poland, official name: Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is bounded to the west by Germany; to the south by the Czech Republic and Slovakia; to the east by Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania; and to the north by the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave. The total surface area of Poland is 312 679 square km, making it the ninth largest country in the European Union. The country has a population of over 38 million people, the sixth highest among the European Union Member States.

2.1.Political and administrative structure

The Republic of Poland has a bicameral Parliament comprising a lower chamber (Sejm), which has 460 Members, and an upper chamber (Senat), which has 100 Senators.

The Sejm is elected using the D’Hondt method. Only candidates of parties which obtain at least 5% of all votes may take seats in the Sejm. An exception to this rule applies to minority ethnic parties. The Senate (Senat) is elected by a simple majority block vote, and the candidates from the list with the most votes in each electoral district are elected.

When meeting in joint session, the members of the Sejm and the Senate form the National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe). There are three scenarios in which the National Assembly may be convened: on the occasion of the appointment of a new president; when an accusation against the President of the Republic is referred to the State Tribunal (Trybunał Stanu) and when the President is declared permanently incapable of performing his duties owing to his state of health. Hitherto the National Assembly has been convened only on the occasion of the appointment of a new President.

The President is elected by direct universal suffrage every five years and, following approval by the Sejm, appoints the Prime Minister, who presides over the Council of Ministers. Executive power is shared between the President and the Prime Minister in a semi-presidential arrangement.

The principal judicial bodies are the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy); the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny); the Constitutional Tribunal (Trybunał Konstytucyjny); and the State Tribunal (Trybunał Stanu). Following approval by the Senate, the Sejm appoints the Human Rights Defender (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) every five years.

Poland is divided into 16 regions (województwo). The capital city is Warsaw (Warszawa), and the major cities are Łódź, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Katowice, Białystok, Toruń, Olsztyn and Rzeszów.

11 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Table 1: Regions of Poland

Populatio Regions Capital n

ZP West Zachodnio- 1 697 500 Szczecin Pomerania pomorskie PM Pomerania Pomorskie 2 183 600 Gdańsk LB Lubusz Lubuskie 1 008 400 Gorzów

Wielkopolski Zielona Góra DS Lower Dolnośląskie 2 904 700 Wrocław Silesia OP Opole Opolskie 1 061 000 Opole SL Silesia Sląskie 4 731 500 Katowice WP Greater Wielkopolskie 3 355 300 Poznań Poland KP Cuiavia- Kujawsko- 2 069 200 Bydgoszcz Pomerania Pomorskie Toruń LD Łódź Lódzkie 2 607 400 Łódź WM Warmia- Warmińsko- 1 428 400 Olsztyn Masuria Mazurskie MA Masovia Mazowieckie 5 128 600 Warsaw PD Podlasie Podlaskie 1 207 700 Białystok SW Świętokrzys Swiętokrzyskie 1 295 900 Kielce kie LU Lublin Lubelskie 2 197 000 Lublin MP Lesser Małopolskie 3 245 600 Kraków Poland PK Subcarpathi Podkarpackie 2 096 700 Rzeszów a

The currency is the złoty (zloty). One euro is worth 3.98 zlotys.

2.2.Physical environment

The territory of Poland extends between latitudes 49°N and 55°N and longitudes 14°E and 25°E. In the north-west the coast of the Baltic Sea extends from the Bay of Pomerania to the Gulf of Gdańsk. The coastline features several coastal lakes, former bays which are now cut off from the sea by a cordon of dunes. The largely straight coastline is indented by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon.

Generally speaking the elevation of Poland is low and the country’s territory to a large degree comprises the Baltic Shield and the Sarmatic Plain. The Polish Carpathians are divided into two groups: the eastern Beskids and the western Beskids. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along Poland's southern border. Another mountain range lies to the south-west: the Sudetes.

The land rises gently from the coast, a region moulded during the ice ages by moraines and moraine-dammed lakes. These geological formations are typical of the lake districts of Pomerania, Greater Poland, Kashubia and Masuria. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of north-eastern Poland.

To the north there are many moraine-dammed glacial lakes. Poland’s principal river is the Vistula (Wisła); the Oder (Odra) flows through Poland and forms part of Poland’s border with Germany.

12 Fisheries in Poland

Map 1: Topography of Poland

Source: Wikipedia

Poland has a continental climate and the greatest temperature deviation occurs in the east. The warmest regions are Lower Silesia and Lesser Poland. Annual rainfall is between 500 mm and 600 mm in western areas; rainfall is lower towards the east and increases in the southern mountains.

2.3.The Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea extends from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is a brackish, interior sea linked to the North Sea and, ultimately, the Atlantic Ocean, via the Kattegat and Skagerrak Straits. It is therefore a semi-enclosed sea. At 396 838 km2, the surface area of the Baltic Sea is small. Its drainage basin is more than four times the area of the sea itself at around 1.7 million km2, 93% of which belongs to the nine coastal states.

It includes a significant number of islands, especially off the coasts of Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and two large gulfs: the Gulf of Finland between the south of Finland and Estonia, and the Gulf of Bothnia, between the eastern coast of Sweden and the western coast of Finland.

13 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

In geological terms it is very young. Until the Pleistocene era, the area currently occupied by the Baltic Sea was capped by a thick sheet of ice. The ice flowed away some 5 000 years ago, leaving an extensive lake of freshwater behind bounded by moraines on the Polish shore and narrow, deep gulfs to the north.

Map 2: Baltic Sea

Source: Wikipedia

The tidal amplitude is very small. It is a very shallow sea; depth is 57 m on average and at its deepest point, to the north of the Swedish island of Gotland, it is 459 m. The sea’s shallowness and small link to the ocean mean that water renewal is very slow and conducive to pollution.

The salinity of the Baltic is very low and is between that of fresh water and salt water. This is due to low evaporation at northern latitudes combined with large inflows of fresh water from many rivers which, owing to the narrowness of the link with the ocean, make it very difficult to exchange the fresh water for salt water. This results in a gradient of salinity running from the south-west to the north-east. The greater the distance from Skagerrat, the lower the salinity. In the south-west of the Baltic salinity oscillates between 15°/°° and 25°/°° but falls as low as 2°/°° in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. This low salinity has significant biological implications for various species from other nearby seas.

The seawater flowing through the Danish straits is very saline compared to the Baltic Sea waters and is therefore heavy. Approximately one quarter of the exchange of water occurs through the shallow Öresund Strait, while the main exchange occurs through the Belts. Although there is a significant, ongoing exchange of water, it barely has any effect on the Baltic Sea as the same water is coming and going all the time. Only when conditions are

14 Fisheries in Poland

highly unusual does the incoming flow continue for more than two weeks, allowing it to reach a far enough point for it not to recede again. During the largest flows the Baltic receives between 200 and 400 cubic kilometres of salt water in a few weeks. The salt water mixes very slowly with the Baltic Sea waters and flows through the Arkona basins on the border between Germany and Poland, the Bornholm Basin, and some six months later reaches the central basin of the Baltic Sea - the depths close to the island of Gotland - replacing the Baltic water which often contains little or no oxygen and a concentration of hydrogen sulphide.

Map 3: Depth of the Baltic and the flow of salt water

Source: Institute of Maritime Research, Finland

The water balance of the Baltic Sea is positive as the inflow of freshwater is greater than the quantity lost through evaporation; the excess flows through the Danish Straits into the North Sea. On its way, this freshwater washes the Baltic Sea. Without the occasional inflows of salt water from the North Sea, the Baltic Sea would be devoid of salt. During the periods of stagnation between the inflows of water from the North Sea, the level of salinity in the Baltic Sea falls considerably.

Owing to the large inflows of freshwater and the paucity of water exchange, the Baltic Sea is highly stratified. The salinity of the surface water is low. However, it increases with depth since density increases with salinity. A layer known as a halocline forms between masses of water with highly different levels of salinity. Stratification prevents both vertical mixing of water and movement of oxygen from the surface to the seabed. New, oxygen-rich water only reaches the depths of the Baltic Sea when the flow of salt water from the North Sea is strong enough.

The fact that the waters are stratified makes upwellings very important for the marine ecosystem as they allow vertical mixing to occur. Upwellings in the Baltic Sea are mostly caused by the effect of the wind and are more frequent in waters close to the coast.

15 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Graph 1: Comparison of primary productivity in the Baltic and North Seas

4.000

3.500

3.000

2.500 Prod. M. del Norte Prod. Báltico 2.000 Media M. del Norte Media Báltico

mgC/(m2 día) mgC/(m2 1.500

1.000

500

0 Ene Feb Mar Abr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dic

Source: Own graph based on www.seaaroundus.org. (Key: mgC/(m2 día) = mgC/(m2 day); Ene - Jan, Abr - Apr; Ago - Aug; Dic - Dec; Prod. M. del Norte - Average Productivity from the North Sea; Prod. Báltico - Productivity from the Baltic Sea; Media M. Del Norte - Average North Sea; Media Báltico - Average Baltic Sea.)

On average, the productivity of the Baltic Sea is higher than that of the North Sea but varies hugely over the year. In the winter months it is almost zero but increases enormously in spring and summer in response to the nutrients carried into it in river water following the thaw. Run-off from fertilisers in the Baltic basin has increased the inflow of nutrients and in summer there are explosions in algal populations.

In addition to increasing eutrophication, the increase in nutrient flows has also brought about changes in the phytoplankton community. For example, the former predominance of diatoms, especially in the spring bloom, has given way to dinoflagellates and an increase in cyanobacteria blooms.

These changes have been evidenced in productivity close to the shore and in the high seas as a result of eutrophication. Eutrophication is driving change in the secondary biomass at this effective maximum length.

Eutrophication is one of the biggest problems in the Baltic Sea. The excessive concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus means that unicellular algae proliferate and compete with perennial algae. On the high seas, the abundance of phytoplankton leads to accumulations at the surface, reducing penetration by sunlight. Biodegradation of sedimented algae consumes oxygen and is a contributory factor to the formation of anoxic seabeds. Many species of fish, and benthic fauna in general, suffer as a result of lack of oxygen. The overall biomass increases with eutrophication but the wealth of species declines. For example, some species of Cyprinidae prosper but species which need clear, well- oxygenated waters become scarce.

16 Fisheries in Poland

The Baltic ecosystems have special features which are the result of the Baltic’s low salinity and stratification. Thermal stratification occurs in summer and the seasonal cycles are also a source of diversity.

The Baltic is home to relatively few species. The main fish species are Baltic herring and sprat. Other species are present too, however, such as cod, hake, plaice, sole, trout, eel and turbot.

Freshwater species live in the brackish waters alongside truly marine species better adapted to salt water conditions. All species in the Baltic Sea have adapted to the cold winter temperatures. The absence of tides has also led to differences between the species in the area as compared to those in the Atlantic. Although some species have an almost token presence, others are very abundant.

The low salinity of the Baltic Sea has led to evolutionary divergence in certain species, such as the Baltic herring, a smaller variant of the Atlantic herring.

The conditions for life on the seabed are determined by factors such as salinity, the availability of oxygen, sediment composition and temperature. Stratifications in the water column are another determining factor as they limit the supply of oxygen.

The state of the seabeds and the benthos are good indicators of the general health of the sea. Some areas of the Baltic seabed are in a very poor state ecologically especially in the deeper waters. Approximately 100 000 km2 of the Baltic sea bed (a quarter of its total surface area) is dead most of the time. The most saline, and therefore most dense, waters remain on the bottom, isolated from the atmosphere, and have low concentrations of oxygen.

Bacteria which proliferate by degrading organic matter release hydrogen sulphide. In addition, the lack of oxygen means that the quantities of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen which have built up in the seabed sediment cannot be degraded. These anaerobic conditions mean that the ecology of the seabed is different from that of the Atlantic.

In view of the low exchange of water and the high volume of run-off from the extensive water catchment basin, the Baltic Sea ecosystem is very sensitive to pollution. The population increase over the last two centuries and post-world war II industrialisation have increased emissions of manmade pollutants from industry and agriculture.

Microbiological pollution in general is a local problem related to untreated sewage. The construction of water treatment plants since the 1990s has reduced the microbe concentration in sewage. However, there has been an increase in pollution in the form of suspended solids as a result both of increased coastal erosion on the southern and eastern shores and the larger quantity of phytoplankton (the result of eutrophication).

High concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus increase eutrophication. Eutrophication in turn exacerbates the hypoxic conditions in deep water and generates blooms of harmful algae which in their turn lead to mortality among fish and marine mammals.

Concentrations of heavy metals appear to be falling except in the case of cadmium. The greatest concentration of mercury is in sediment in the Gulf of Bothnia and in the east of the Gulf of Finland. Concentration of cadmium, zinc and copper is higher in the Central Baltic, and lead is uniformly distributed.

17 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Over the last 30 years pursuant to the recommendations of HELCOM (Helsinki Commission) there has been a continual fall in emissions of organochloride compounds and other toxic substances such as pesticides. A certain level of pollution persists, however, and it displays a high level of regional diversity. Highest pollution levels are in the Gulf of Bothnia, especially among herring and salmon.

Over the last few decades over one hundred invasive alien species have been recorded as having established themselves; it is thought that their route to the Baltic was mainly in the ballast waters of merchant vessels. Some of them, such as the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and the jellyfish Mnemiopsis leidyi are affecting the equilibrium of ecosystems. HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Regional Project (BSRP) have supported the establishment of a Baltic Sea Alien Species Database1.

1 www.corpi.ku.lt/nemo/.

18 Fisheries in Poland

3. ECONOMIC ROLE OF FISHERIES

Although, as in most Member States, the contribution of fisheries to the Polish economy is relatively low (0.03% of GDP), fisheries nonetheless play an important role in the economy and society of coastal areas, and are a very important industry in three regions (Pomerania, West Pomerania and Varmia-Masuria), especially in the area of Kashubia. These regions often experience structural unemployment, and fisheries and related industries such as processing, port services and trading activities make a significant contribution to the local economy.

Employment in the fisheries sector is only a small percentage of the total figure. In 2008, the fishing industry employed 26 123 people, of whom 2 991 were working in maritime fisheries, 17 595 in fish processing, 5 537 in commerce and some 4 000 in inland fisheries and aquaculture. Employment in maritime fisheries plummeted from 16 813 in 1988 to 2 991 in 2008 (-82%). There are substantial differences in the falls in employment in the different regions. The greatest drop was in West Pomerania, with a somewhat smaller fall in Pomerania and a much smaller one in Varmia-Masuria, although fisheries employment in the latter is much lower than in the other two regions.

Graph 2: Employment in Poland

20.000

18.000

16.000

14.000

12.000 Pesca marítima

10.000 Transformación de pescado Comercio 8.000

6.000

4.000

2.000

0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Warsaw. Own graph. (Key: Pesca marítima - maritime fisheries; transformación de pescado - fish processing; Comercio - trade.)

Employment in the processing of fishery products has recovered since 2002. However, it would appear to be reaching a ceiling of around 18 000 employees. Average pay is low. In 2008 it stood at 569 EUR/month in fisheries, 527 EUR/month in processing and 604 EUR/month in commerce. In any event, pay has risen considerably. Since 2003 pay has risen by 22% for fishery workers, 41% for processing employees, and 38% for employees in commerce.

19 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

20 Fisheries in Poland

4. PRODUCTION

4.1.Maritime Fisheries

In the Baltic Sea, cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) dominate both in terms of numbers of individuals and biomass. The most important species in commercial terms are the sprat, the herring, cod, various flat fish and salmon (Salmo salar). Other important species are sea trout (Salmo trutta), pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca), whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), eel (Anguilla anguilla), freshwater bream (Abramis brama), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and Northern pike (Esox lucius).

Total catches for the Polish fleet were 179 309 t in 2008, a drop of 4% compared to 2007. Catches have plummeted since 1988 (628 026 t) to 179 309 t in 2008. Preliminary data would appear to indicate a strong increase in catches in 2009.

Catches consisted chiefly of sprat (55 400 t), herring (17 000 t) cod (12 200 t) and sole and flat fish (10 800 t). In addition, 8 304 t of krill were caught in 2008 but are falling continually compared to the annual average of 20 000 t in the second half of the 1990s.

Poland is developing a relatively small and declining krill fishery in the Atlantic area of the Antarctic. The harsh operating conditions for Antarctic resources and the limited market for krill products mean that it is not viable for more vessels to transfer to the fishing-grounds there.

Around 90% of catches made in the Northeast Atlantic are from the Baltic, with the remainder from the Atlantic Ocean. Catches in the Baltic are traditionally of cod and herring, although their volumes have been falling since the mid-1980s. At the same time, catches of sprat rose until the mid-1990s and sprat is the only Baltic fishery likely to approach the 100 000 t mark over the coming years.

Most landings in 2009 were for catches of sprat by Swedish vessels transshipped on the high seas to Polish vessels. Fisheries in the Baltic Sea and coastal lakes accounted for 62% of total catches in 2009 (compared to 75% in 2008). The remainder was in deep-sea fisheries; 21.8% of total catches were made in the Central Atlantic.

Local fish account for barely 2% of total production. ‘Local fish’ means species captured principally by small-scale coastal fishing activity. The principal species are garfish (Belone belone), pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca), perch (Perca fluviatilis), seabream (Polysteganus spp), crucial carp (Carassius carassius), common roach (Rutilus rutilus), river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis), burbot (Lota lota), smelts (Osmerus spp and Hypomesus spp), freshwater bream (Abramis brama), flounder (Pseudopleuronectes spp) and turbot (Psetta maxima). Some of these species are usually fished in equal or even greater amounts as part of recreational fishing.

For some time now, and before the EU enlargement in 2004, the economically important species in the Baltic, namely cod, sprat, herring and salmon, have been managed using a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) system. Since 1997, the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC) had gradually but drastically cut the quotas of salmon, herring and cod allocated to Poland. The cuts for herring and cod were greater. Subsequently, the quotas for sprat and herring have risen, but those for cod and salmon have fallen. The

21 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

economic situation of Polish fishermen has deteriorated because fishing capacity has remained stable or has even increased slightly.

Graph 3: Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for Poland in the Baltic Sea

160.000

140.000

120.000

100.000 Espadín Arenque 80.000 Bacalao

60.000 Salmón (n. ejemplares)

40.000

Tm (n° ejemplares para el Salmón) 20.000

0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Warsaw. (Key: Tm (no ejemplares para el Salmón - Tm (numbers in the case of salmon); Espadín - Sprat; Arenque - Herring; Bacalao - Cod; Salmón (n. ejemplares) - Salmon (fish numbers)

Poland does not take up its full quotas for pelagic species (sprat and herring). Unlike cod, nearly 50% of the quotas go unused. This is because unlike cod, catches of pelagic species are not very profitable as they attract low prices and face strong competition from imported raw material; additionally, there are shortcomings in market structures and there has been a sharp, rapid increase in fuel prices.

4.1.1. Cod

Cod stocks have been subject to severe pressure. From the beginning of the 1980s they were subject to very intense fishing, with a significant proportion of the stock being caught before spawning for the first time. Consequently the biomass of spawning stock was seriously depleted as was the resource as a whole. In the 1990s the IBSFC2adopted a series of measures to remedy the situation and in cooperation with the ICES3an action plan for cod was drawn up to ensure its viability for exploitation in the long term.

ICES had recommended the complete closure of the cod fishery in the eastern Baltic until a long-term management plan had been adopted. To prevent the social and economic consequences of a closure, the Commission proposed managing the cod stock under a multi- annual plan. The plan was adopted in July 2006 and combined reduction in fishing mortality with increases in closed seasons. To provide the fisheries sector with a degree of stability, interannual variations in the total allowable catch (TAC) were limited.

2International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission. 3International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

22 Fisheries in Poland

Following the accession of Poland to the EU, Poland received quotas for cod under the same terms as the other Member States. The quota for Baltic cod has been divided between eastern and western zones since 2005 to allow specific measures to be adopted.

In October 2006 activities to monitor the cod fishery in the Baltic Sea were formalised by the adoption of a co-ordinated deployment plan under the umbrella of the Community Fisheries Control Agency. The plan ultimately proved painful for the Polish fisheries sector.

In the first half of 2007, the Polish fleet exhausted the entire quota assigned to it. The Commission estimated in July 2007 that the catches of cod in the Eastern Baltic Sea (Subdivisions 25-32, EC Waters) by vessels flying the flag of Poland were three times the amounts originally declared by Poland. Fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea by vessels flying the flag of Poland was banned as of 12 July 20074. However, fishing vessels flying the flag of Poland continued fishing for cod after the prohibition, thereby further overshooting the quota allocated to Poland for 2007. This was, in short, a serious case of cod fishing that was undeclared and incorrectly reported in the eastern zone of the Baltic Sea.

Following several technical meetings between the Polish authorities and the Commission in order to establish a verified quantity of overshooting, Poland notified an 8 000 t overshoot of the quota. Consequently, the quantities of fish taken in excess of the annual quotas were deducted from the cod quota for Poland over the following years. As a result the cod quota for Poland for 2008 was reduced by 10% of the excess figure (800 t), and for the following years, 2009-2011, the TAC was reduced by 30% of the excess (2 400 t each year).

The Commission took the view that the main causes for the overfishing of cod by Polish vessels were a deficient control and enforcement scheme and a fleet for which the potential to catch cod was disproportionate with regard to the fishing opportunities allocated each year to Poland by the Council.

In order to address comprehensively the serious shortcomings in the enforcement of the common fisheries policy by Poland, and to avoid a repetition of the overfishing of cod that had occurred, Poland undertook to adopt and implement National Action Plans. Those plans would include immediate measures to improve the control and enforcement systems in accordance with Community standards and specific measures to adjust the capacity of the Polish fleets in order to achieve a stable balance between that capacity and the fishing opportunities for cod in the Baltic Sea allocated to Poland.

This resulted in Council Regulation (EC) No 338/2008, under which Poland was required to adopt and implement National Action Plans on control and fleet restructuring, including measures aimed at:

 a reinforcement of the control of fishing activities, especially for that segment of the fleet for which cod is a substantial part of the catch;  improved enforcement of Community and national conservation rules, and especially catch limits;  adjustment of the capacity of that segment of the fleet for which cod is a substantial part of the catch.

4Commission Regulation (EC) No 804/2007.

23 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Table 2: Licences for cod fishing Categories of Quota Number of length kW GRT (Tm per vessel) vessels (metres) 8 - 11.99 55 4 143.7 601.3 68 12 - 14.99 65 2 600.0 449.1 17 15 - 18.49 85 4 552.6 1 100.1 30 18.5 - 20.49 90 1 377.0 335.0 5 20.5 - 25.49 102.5 3 624.4 1 313.0 13 25.5 and above 70 6 029.8 2 289.0 14 Average/Total 69.1 22 345.5 6 087.5 147 Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Warsaw. (Key: Tm (no ejemplares para el Salmón - Tm (numbers in the case of salmon); Espadín - Sprat; Arenque - Herring; Bacalao - Cod; Salmón (n. ejemplares) - Salmon (fish numbers)

Additionally, a multiannual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea entered into force at the beginning of 20085. The objective of the plan was to ensure the sustainable exploitation of cod stocks in economic, environmental and social terms. Accordingly, the aim was to rebuild the eastern stock to safe biological limits and ensure the full reproductive capacity of both stocks was maintained. The Regulation also introduced permanent closed seasons (from 1 to 30 April in the Western Baltic and from 1 July to 31 August in the Eastern Baltic) and strengthened the rules on the presentation of reports of cod catches, transportation and landings.

4.1.2. Sprat and herring

The sprat and herring fishery has traditionally remained within safe biological limits. There are clear indications of interaction between cod and clupeids. Cod is the only significant predator of herring and sprat. Eutrophication of certain areas has also been conducive to the development of these stocks. Current fishing is less than or equal to natural mortality. If, however, the stock of cod were to exceed a certain level, that situation could change.

4.1.3. Salmon

Wild salmon is affected by the construction of dams, pollution and catches. To offset the effects of dams, salmon have been reared and released on a large scale while still immature. Wild populations have been overfished. The situation deteriorated with the growing impact of syndrome M74 at the beginning of the 1990s, causing the death of between 40% and 90% of alevins. In the 1990s the wild stock fell to around 10% of the total. The IBSFC adopted a Salmon Action Plan to safeguard and increase wild stocks. The gradual reduction in TACs during that decade, national measures and a fall in M74 have recently made a significant increase in the wild population possible in the majority of rivers. The cut in quotas has led to a deterioration in Polish fishermen’s economic circumstances.

The IBSFC implemented the Salmon Action Plan 1997-2010 in order to improve the situation of wild salmon stocks. The aim was firstly for production of wild salmon to gradually increase to attain by 2010 for each salmon river a natural production of wild Baltic salmon of at least

5Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007.

24 Fisheries in Poland

50% of the best estimates for the potential capacity of rivers and secondly for salmon to re- establish itself in the salmon rivers.

The main aspects of the IBSFC Salmon Action Plan were:

 salmon was to be re-established in potential salmon rivers;  reared salmon alevins were to be released and monitored;  wild salmon habitats were to be improved or restored as far as possible;  the fishing pattern should be shifted as far as possible toward reared populations;  the coastal States were to enhance controls and adopt national measures to supplement IBSFC Recommendations and Resolutions.

The Salmon Action Plan 1997-2010 was a success since:  The majority of salmon stocks are improving. However, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) reports that the recovery is not uniform.  In 2000/2001, 72% of the potential for wild salmon had been attained in the 22 rivers studied in the main basin and the Gulf of Bothnia.  The percentage of alevins in the total stock had increased dramatically.

The salmon fishery has also been affected by various regulations on cod or the protection of marine mammals. The requirement to use acoustic devices in certain areas to deter fishing with gillnets and entangling nets has led to the almost complete disappearance of the segment of the fleet specialising in salmon and sea trout fishing. In 2004 there were around 30 vessels in that segment employing some 120 fishermen. The blanket ban on fishing with driftnets has also led to a dramatic fall in catches of salmon and sea trout. The figure for 2008 was only 20% of that for 2004.

4.2.Inland fisheries and aquaculture

The full extent of Polish inshore waters in 560 000 ha, including 140 000 ha of rivers, 280 000 ha of lakes, 50 000 ha of reservoirs, 50 000 ha of fishing lakes (for commercial exploitation) and 40 000 ha of other waters. In total, 480 000 ha of all inshore waters are used for fishing. The largest user is the Polish Angling Association, comprising some 600 000 of the one million or so anglers and fishermen in Poland.

Inland fisheries in Poland traditionally incorporate fish farming, aquaculture and freshwater fisheries, whether for commercial purposes or sport. Around 4 000 people are involved in fish farming and inland fisheries. Inland production of freshwater species varies around 55 000 t, of which 36 000 t are the result of aquaculture, 3 000 t professional catches in lakes and 16 000 t are from recreational fishing. There is considerable development potential for inland fisheries and aquaculture, however. The fishing industry in the Baltic has reached the limit at which marine ecosystems can be maintained. Aquaculture is the only means by which endogenous supply of fishery products can be increased. The geographical conditions on the Polish shore mean that aquaculture can only be conducted in inland waters.

Catches in inland waters are of various species. Commercial catches are estimated at 5 000 t, whereas recreational fishing, usually with a rod, may account for 45 000 t although the majority of catches are not registered.

At the end of the 1970s the average number of days’ fishing per fisherman was 61. Of those days, 75% were in the period May to September. Fishing intensity in the various types of inshore waters has changed since that decade. The percentage of fishing days at fishing

25 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

lakes, reservoirs and small bodies of water has risen, and the percentage of days’ fishing in rivers and streams has fallen.

Over 30 species of fish are caught, and the breakdown of catches by species has changed. For example, currently catches of pike-perch, freshwater bream (Abramis brama) and common roach (Rutilus rutilus) are higher, whereas those of Northern pike (Esox lucius), tench (Tinca tinca), eel (Anguilla anguilla) and whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) have fallen.

Aquaculture does not satisfy even 15% of Polish demand for fish, and focuses on two species: carp and rainbow trout. Carp is the more traditional species: trout-rearing was introduced during the 1960s and 1970s and is on the increase. Aquaculture production is concentrated in the northern regions of Masuria and Pomerania.

There are some 1 050 fish farms in Poland, and production at 15% of those farms is on a relatively large scale. They include 600 carp farms, 150 trout farms and 600 farms for lacustrine species. The volume of production of ZHP, the largest producer, is around 1 000 t.

Fishing lakes in the southern provinces have specialised in the production of carp, usually on family farms which historically have operated on a very small scale. They sell fresh fish, especially for New Year celebrations. Trout-farming is a newer industry: it was introduced in the 1960s and 1970s. Trout production is concentrated in the northern provinces and is destined principally for exports to western Europe.

26 Fisheries in Poland

5. CHANGE IN THE FISHERIES SECTOR

Catches by Poland were at their peak in the mid-1970s (786 442 t in 1974). Catches have plummeted since 1988 (628 026 t) to 179 309 t in 2008.

Graph 4: Catches by the Polish fleet

900.000

800.000

700.000

600.000

500.000 Total Atlántico NE Tm 400.000 Otras aguas

300.000

200.000

100.000

0 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007

Source: FAO. Own graph. (Key: Atlántico NE - NE Atlantic; otras aguas - other waters.)

The Baltic has not always been the predominant source of catches. Poland began to explore other fishing-grounds in the 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s the Baltic accounted for only 40% of marine catches. That proportion fell to approximately 20% at the beginning of the 1990s, then began to rise sharply owing to the falls in catches in other fishing-grounds.

The increase in catches between the 1970s and the 1990s is for the most part due to catches of small pelagic species in the Eastern Central Atlantic off the African coast, of pollock (Pollachius pollachius) in the North Pacific and of krill in the Antarctic. Such catches are currently much lower and more erratic. Catches in the Eastern Central Atlantic, the Northwest Pacific and the Antarctic are only of medium significance.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Poland was fishing in grounds in the Northwest Atlantic, focusing on Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), cod (Gadus morhua) and herring (Clupea harengus). In the Eastern Central Atlantic the fishing industry focused on the pilchard (Sardina pilchardus), round sardinella (Sardinella aurita), and horse mackerel (Trachurus spp). In the 1970s and 1980s Poland explored the Southeast Atlantic (horse mackerel and hake) and the Northeast Pacific (hake and Alaskan pollock). Between the end of the 1970s and the mid- 1980s Poland fished in the Southwest Atlantic, catching squid (Loligo spp), cuttlefish, southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) and Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus). Catches by Poland in the Northwest Pacific (of Alaskan pollock) began in the mid-1980s but have been in decline since the mid-1990s.

27 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

The Polish fisheries sector has been in decline since 1979 owing to increasing difficulties experienced by the Polish fleet in finding suitable fishing-grounds belonging to countries implementing the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In addition, political instability in 1988 and 1989 caused a drop in production in the Polish fisheries sector. Total catches in 1988 were 654 860 t, whereas in 1989 that figure fell to 564 886 t.

The fisheries sector was under State control until 1991. Undertakings active in the high- seas fishing industry were established as part of a centralised economy. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Polish Government began to dismantle the central planning system along with regulatory authorities such as the Central Fisheries Council.

As a consequence, the fisheries sector ceased to be under central control and embarked on a genuine process of privatisation. Far-reaching changes were introduced to address the new situation and there were adjustments to the organisational structure, the volume of employment and assets. Concomitant with the application of market economy principles was a fall in subsidies to state undertakings. Taxes were also increased to facilitate rapid business restructuring. In particular, income tax was raised. Value added tax (VAT) was also levied. Fishery products were exempt from sales tax, meaning that undertakings were unable to recover the VAT on the inputs they acquired.

Additionally, other major changes were introduced such as the freedom to set prices, liberalisation of external trade and the sudden devaluation of the zloty. Prices of products destined for export rose, although the same was true of the prices of most inputs acquired abroad. Levies on the acquisition of fishing quotas also rose sharply.

State undertakings were facing poor finances, high levels of debt and growing difficulties in gaining access to fishing-grounds for the high-seas fleet. A few of the high-seas undertakings, such as Dalmor SA, had already been privatised in 1995. Nonetheless, the process of privatising the fleet proved to be a difficult one, chiefly because of the shortage of liquidity and the absence of new paid-in capital. The high rate of inflation caused a significant rise in interest rates on bank loans. Undertakings faced serious difficulties repaying their debts.

In the 1990s the effects of the economic transformation were aggravated by the lack of a state policy on high-seas fishing. The process of restructuring the public authorities took several years. The new structure was trying to adapt to the political needs of the time, although reorganisation did not make it easier to implement the processes of restructuring and privatising the high-seas fishing undertakings. Moreover, fishing operations in the Sea of Okhotsk, upon which the largest proportion of the high-seas fleet depended, ceased to be viable in the long term.

At the end of 1991 the entire Bering Sea fishery fleet transferred to the international waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. In 1992 over 70% of the high-seas fishing effort, calculated in terms of catch days, was geared to fishing the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea; the fleet was composed essentially of trawlers. The Polish high-seas fleet achieved good results there: between 240 000 t and 300 000 t annually of Alaskan pollock. Between 1996 and 1998, therefore, between 76% and 85% of the activity of the Polish high-seas fishing fleet was focused on the Russian zone. The fleet thereby became heavily dependent on a long-standing agreement it had with Russia for access to the fishing- grounds of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas.

In 1992, in response to the overexploitation of fishery resources, the countries fishing in the international waters of the Bering Sea introduced a moratorium on catches in the

28 Fisheries in Poland

region. Since 1995, the international waters of the Bering Sea have been governed by the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea, to which the signatory states are Poland, the United States of America, China, Russia, Japan and Korea. The annual catch limits are set on the basis of research into resources.

The most serious structural problem was experienced by the high-seas fishing fleet. The Russian authorities cut the catch quotas allocated to Polish fishermen for Alaskan pollock from 111 000 t in 1996 to zero in 2002. That fact, together with the fall in fishing-grounds' productivity, has resulted in serious economic problems for Polish high-seas fishery undertakings. The sector had weaknesses including the facts that it was highly specialised in high-seas fishing and that it was dependent on political decisions on fishing opportunities. When Russia decided to cease allocating quotas to foreign vessels in the Northwest Pacific, the high-seas fleet lost its access to the fisheries resources there and consequently faced serious problems. Fisheries production in Poland has fallen considerably since then. There has also been a sharp fall in employment in the Polish fishing fleet.

Consequently, the Polish fisheries sector is essentially dependent on the Baltic fishery, especially the state of the biomass of four species: cod, sprat, herring and salmon. Biological productivity in Polish maritime areas of the southern Baltic is very high, making these waters a breeding and feeding ground for severable valuable species. Catches in those waters will have to be balanced and proportionate to the variation in fishery resources in these fragile ecosystems. In contrast to the fishing fleets of other EU Member States, which take industrial catches in bulk, the catches made by the Polish fleet are destined for direct human consumption. Furthermore, its fishing capacity is small compared to other Member States’ fleets.

The fleet has experienced a sharp fall in both the number of vessels and in fishing capacity. Under the fleet adjustment programme prior to EU accession, the capacity of the fleet was reduced by 40% and 360 vessels were withdrawn. The fishing opportunities for the remaining vessels have not always been sufficient to ensure economic viability. A proportion of the fleet has taken illegal, unreported catches, mainly of cod, of up to three times the allocated quotas. This led to a requirement for Poland to adopt and implement National Action Plans on control and fleet restructuring6, including measures aiming at

 a reinforcement of the control of fishing activities, especially for that segment of the fleet for which cod is a substantial part of the catch;  improved enforcement of Community and national conservation rules, and especially catch limits;  adjustment of the capacity of that segment of the fleet for which cod is a substantial part of the catch.

One weakness of the fleet is the high average age of vessels and the restricted opportunities for renewal. Since accession to the EU, new vessels can only be built to replace vessels of the same or greater capacity which have been withdrawn pursuant to the entry/exit regime.

6Council Regulation (EC) No 338/2008.

29 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

30 Fisheries in Poland

6. FISHING FLEET

The Polish fishing fleet comprises mainly small, ageing vessels. In December 2010, there were 794 vessels in the Polish fleet. Of these, 598 (75% of the fleet) were less than 12 m in length. More than half the fleet is obsolete and has difficulty making a profit against a background of scarce resources and expensive fuel. Only 1% of vessels in the EU-27 fishing fleet are registered in Poland and the Polish fleet accounts for 6% of the gross tonnage and 6% of total power.

6.1. Structure of the Polish fleet

The Polish fishing fleet fell substantially during the economic transition. Additionally, a fleet- reduction programme was implemented prior to Poland’s accession to the EU. Despite this, since it acceded to the European Union, the number of vessels has fallen by 36%, tonnage by 19% and total power by 41%.

Table 3: Change in the Polish fishing fleet (as at 31 Dec each year) No of GRT kW GRT/Vessel kW/Vessel Average age vessels 2004 1 248 45 566 147 089 37 118 27 2005 974 30 261 105 479 31 108 27 2006 884 31 607 99 922 36 113 27 2007 866 29 971 96 703 35 112 28 2008 832 40 999 98 961 49 119 28 2009 806 38 242 90 739 47 113 28 2010 794 37 036 86 708 47 109 28 Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

Average tonnage and average power have gradually increased. The average age is currently 28 years. The fleet is inefficient in terms of fuel consumption. Despite modernisation and the fitting of electronic devices a considerable proportion of vessels still require capital investment in order to bring them into compliance with Community requirements on health, safety and surveillance under the Vessel Monitoring System. The lack of private investment in the sector is, however, compromising the modernisation which this antiquated and obsolete fleet requires.

The table below compares the proportion of vessels less than 12 m in length in the Polish small-scale coastal fishing fleet with the proportion of such vessels in the EU-27 fleet. ‘Small coastal fishing’ means fisheries activity by vessels less than 12 m in length using gear not categorised as towed gear (i.e. not trawls, seines or dredges). There are 521 Polish vessels covered by this definition, accounting for 75% of the Polish fishing fleet.

31 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Table 4: Comparison of the Polish and EU-27 fishing fleets Proportion of the total fleet <12 m Small coastal fishing EU-27 Poland EU-27 Poland 85% 75% 76% 66% No of vessels 11% 8% 8% 6% Tonnage 38% 28% 30% 21% Power

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

The proportion of smaller vessels as a whole and the proportion of vessels in the small coastal fleet are lower in the Polish fleet than in that of the EU-27. The average power of the Polish fleet of smaller vessels is lower than the average for the European Union. It should also be noted that the use of towed gear is slightly lower among smaller Polish vessels than it is for the European Union.

Some 39% of vessels have a metal hull, a feature of larger vessels. Some 26% of vessels have a wooden hull and a further 25% a fibre-glass hull. The vessels with fibre-glass hulls are generally more modern and smaller than those with wooden hulls.

The majority of vessels in the Polish fishing fleet use static gear. However, vessels using towed gear are more powerful and have slightly higher tonnage. This is due to the fact that static gear is used more by smaller vessels.

In most European Union countries, coastal fishing is deemed to be an activity conducted by vessels less than 12 m long. In Poland, however, the cut-off has traditionally been made at 15 m long. Consequently, the Polish fleet is regarded as being divided into three main sectors:

 coastal fishing, conducted by vessels between 3 m and 16 m in length within the limits of the territorial waters in the Vistula and Szczecin Lagoons;  vessels between 16 m and 32 m in length fishing in the Baltic and, to a lesser extent, in the Northeast Atlantic; and  high-seas fishing conducted by vessels over 32 m in length, fishing on the high seas in distant fishing-grounds.

Table 5: Polish fleet. January 2009 Vessels Avera GRT Power Average ge Length No % Tm % kW % GRT kW age Coastal 3-16 643 80% 23 4 100 11% 29 900 33% 6 47 Baltic 16-32 161 20% 40 12 900 34% 42 500 47% 80 264 High 32-108 24 0.5% 19 21 300 56% 18 400 20% 5 325 4 600 seas TOTAL 808 28 38 200 90 800 Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Warsaw. (Key: Tm (no ejemplares para el Salmón - Tm (numbers in the case of salmon); Espadín - Sprat; Arenque - Herring; Bacalao - Cod; Salmón (n. ejemplares) - Salmon (fish numbers)

32 Fisheries in Poland

In Poland, coastal fishing is defined as small-scale fishing in waters close to the coast (up to 12 nautical miles) using vessels of up to 16 m in length. In January 2009, the number of registered vessels stood at 643 (80% of the Polish fleet). A significant proportion of fishermen engaged in coastal fishing do so on a part-time basis and have other paid work in, for example, the tourist industry.

The average age of vessels is lower than that of the Baltic fleet, at 23 years. Over half this segment of the fleet was built after 1990. Despite its relative newness, the equipment it is fitted with such as sonar, radio, radar, lifting appliances, etc., is unsatisfactory, and a considerable proportion of this fleet has no equipment at all.

This segment of the fleet also includes vessels fishing along the coast and in the Vistula and Szczecin lagoons, chiefly using static gear. This fleet is in decline and its records of catches have traditionally been inaccurate because fishery product is, for the most part, sold directly to the public.

In the main, the coastal fleet catches cod, herring and flat fish although it also takes diadromous and freshwater species. Around 50 of the vessels in this segment are based at the port of Ustka.

In 2009 the Baltic fleet had 161 vessels (kutry), comprising 20% of the Polish fleet with a total power of 42 500 kW (264 kW on average), total tonnage of 12 900 GRT (34% of the Polish fleet), and lengths of between 16 m and 32 m. Most of them fish in the Polish EEZ.

Privatisation began at the start of the 1990s, when over half the Baltic vessels belonged to State undertakings. This fleet has now been almost fully privatised. There is only one publicly owned undertaking in the Baltic fishery (PPiUR), and it manages seven vessels. The fleet needs to be modernised although its owners generally do not have the capital that the process would require.

Over half the vessels in this segment of the fleet are concentrated in three ports: Władysławowo, Kołobrzeg and Ustka. The main port is Władysławowo. The importance of Darłowo as a port has fallen in recent years.

In 2009, the average age of vessels was around 40 years, but 37% of the fleet is over 46 years old. The vessels in the Baltic fleet use various types of gear such as gillnets, longlines, bottom trawls and pelagic trawls. They are generally low in power and are inadequate from a technical point of view. Some boats have been modernised, however, and their technical equipment has been upgraded.

The most important species landed in economic terms by this segment of the fleet is cod, which traditionally accounted for between 60% and 70% of fishermen’s income. This segment of the fleet was the one most adversely affected by the National Action Plans prompted by the overshooting of cod quotas. Sprat, herring, salmon and sea trout are other target species for this segment.

The high-seas fleet, which used to fish in the Antarctic, the Falklands, New Zealand and the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, has shrunk enormously in terms of numbers, catches and fishing- grounds. The Polish fleet of large pelagic trawlers has experienced a serious decline over the last 20 years and the number of vessels, which stood at 77 in 1990, had fallen to four in 2009 - a drop of 95%. The average age of these four vessels is 19 years. Their tonnage is 21 300 GRT, and their power is 18 400 kW. Their average tonnage is 5 325 GRT, and their average power is 4 600 kW.

33 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Graph 5: Change in the Polish high-seas fleet

90

80

70

60

50 Flota de altura 40 Flota auxiliar de altura

Número de buques de Número 30

20

10

0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Community fishing fleet register. Own graph. (Key: Número de buques - number of vessels; flota de altura - high-seas fleet; flota auxiliar de altura - high- seas auxiliary fleet.)

Until the 1980s the Polish high-seas fleet was one of the largest in the world and its annual catches in the 1970s and 1980s amounted to several hundred thousand tonnes, accounting for almost 50% of all catches in Poland. It entered a decline following the introduction of Exclusive Economic Zones by coastal states. The reduction recorded in the 1970s became more acute in the 1990s and the Polish high-seas segment had to address a crisis that was subsequently exacerbated by politics.

The profound changes in international fishery arrangements together with subsequent cuts in national subsidies had dramatic repercussions on the structure and production of the fleet and the shortfall in supply led to a sharp fall in the consumption of fish at the beginning of the 1990s. The high-seas fisheries were the responsibility of the three State undertakings running the fishing fleet: Dalmor, Gryf and Odra. The companies that managed the fleet were privatised while still highly dependent on catches of Alaskan pollock in the Sea of Okhotsk and at a time when the price of access rights to that fishing-ground was rising sharply.

The period from 1990 to 1995 was the time of the economic transformation and the fall in the productivity of the high-seas fishing-grounds. The reduction in the fleet at that time was a consequence both of adjusting fishing potential to more limited fishing opportunities, and of efforts by undertakings to increase productivity of labour.

The fall was due in part to the decision to abandon the unproductive waters of Newfoundland and Mauritania, restrictions on access by Polish high-seas vessels to other fishing-grounds and the process of adapting to the new economic situation from 1989-90 onwards. In 1990 there were 110 vessels in the high-seas auxiliary fleet but by 1998 the fleet had disappeared completely.

34 Fisheries in Poland

In 2008, catches from high-seas fisheries fell to 14 000 t, a huge decrease on the figure of 320 000 t recorded in 1990. Catches of small pelagic species currently predominate. Horse mackerel account for 57% of catches, and krill for 10%. Other small pelagic species have a lesser role; round sardinella accounts for 9% of catches, pilchard for 8% and Atlantic mackerel 6%.

In the 1990s, Polish high-seas fishing focused chiefly on a single species: Alaskan pollock, which was caught in the waters of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. That species accounted for 60% of all catches, yet currently it is not caught at all.

The high-seas fleet now operates in the fishing-grounds of the Antarctic, the Eastern Central Atlantic and occasionally in the South Pacific. Catches in those grounds in 2008 barely accounted for 6% and 3% of the total catch volume respectively.

There is now only one public undertaking operating in the high-seas fishing industry: Dalmor (PPPiH). It has only one trawler, which usually fishes for krill in the Antarctic, although it occasionally fishes in the Southeast Pacific.

The other three high-seas trawlers belong to the Organisation of North Atlantic Producers, a limited company. One vessel operates in the Northeast Atlantic and the other two usually fish in Mauritania, although occasionally they go to the Southeast Pacific.

Table 6: Polish fishing fleet as a proportion of the EU-27 fleet by vessel length

40%

35%

30%

25%

Buques 20% TRB kW

15%

10%

5%

0% < 4 4 - 8 8 - 12 12 - 16 16 - 20 20 - 24 24 - 28 28 - 32 32 - 36 36 - 60 60 - 64 64 - 92 92 - 96 96 - 104 96 104 - 108 104

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register. (Key: buques - vessels; TRB - GRT.)

The Polish fleet accounts for a high proportion only of some of the segments for larger vessels (in terms of length) in the EU-27 fleet, especially the 92 m to 96 m segment (one high-seas vessel) and the 104 m to 108 m segment (two high-seas vessels). The fourth high-seas vessel is in the segment for vessels between 60 m and 64 m in length. The Baltic

35 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

fleet is relevant only in terms of the segments between 24 m and 28 m long and between 16 m and 20 m long.

6.2. Fishing gear

The table below outlines the main fishing gear reported pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 on the Community fishing fleet register.

Table 7: Fishing gear in the Polish fleet Main gear % OF TOTAL Average size No of GRT kW Avera Averag vessels ge e kW GRT GNS Set (anchored) gillnets 62% 11% 29% 9 51 OTM Midwater otter trawls 4% 63% 29% 837 906 OTB Bottom otter trawls 14% 23% 32% 76 258 FPO Pots (traps) 15% 1% 6% 3 39 LLS Set longlines 4% 1% 2% 11 56 PTB Bottom pair trawls 1% 1% 1% 42 218 LLD Longlines (drifting) 0% 0% 1% 62 252 Other 0% 0% 0% 5 24 TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 47 109 Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

The most used types of main gear are set or anchored gillnets (62% of vessels), pots (15%) and bottom trawls (14%). Gillnets and pots are typical of small-scale coastal fishing, whereas bottom trawls are used more by the medium-sized fleet operating in the Baltic. Although midwater trawls are used by only 4% of vessels, they account for 63% of total tonnage and 29% of power.

The large pelagic trawlers are highly specialised and do not use secondary gear. However, 25 medium-sized pelagic trawlers operate in the Baltic using bottom otter trawls as secondary gear. All bottom trawlers operating in the Baltic use subsidiary gear, whether gillnets or midwater otter or pair trawls. Most vessels using anchored gillnets as their main gear also use set longlines as secondary gear and a small percentage also use drifting longlines.

6.3. Structural adjustment of the Polish fishing fleet

Over the last 20 years the Polish fishing fleet has undergone an intense process of structural adjustment. In the wake of the crisis caused by restrictions on access to fishing- grounds, the Polish fleet suffered in the fall-out from the process of the country’s economic transformation. Moreover, prior to accession to the European Union, further fleet reduction was implemented. The problems were, however, far from being resolved, as shown by the issues arising from the cod quota overshoot in 2007. That situation, which stemmed from a lack of profitability among some segments of the fleet, paved the way for a number of national action programmes in which fleet management had a key role.

Like the fleets of other EU Member States, the Polish fishing fleet has undergone substantial changes in terms of size and characteristics, both in order to adjust capacity to bring it into line with actual resources, and as a result of the crisis in the fisheries sector.

36 Fisheries in Poland

Since 2004, the number of vessels in the Polish fishing fleet has fallen by 36%, total tonnage by 19% and total power by 41%. An initial fall in both the number of vessels and tonnage or power was followed in 2008 by an increase in tonnage under the vessel replacement process.

Graph 6: Change in the Polish fishing fleet 2004 = 100

110

100

90

N° Buques 80 TRB kW

70

60

50 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register. (Key: No buques - No of vessels; TRB - GRT.)

The relatively low number of vessels in the Polish fleet means that general trends are obscured by the entry or exit of large vessels. A more detailed view of the changes in the fleet can be obtained by studying the information on the Community fishing fleet register in the context of the entry/exit regime.

June 2004 saw a fall of 20% in tonnage but of only 6% in total power. The fall was the result of the exit of three large vessels with an average tonnage of 3 850 GRT. In September 2005 total tonnage fell by 15%, but power only by 8%. On that occasion, 25 vessels with an average tonnage of 229 GRT had exited. May 2006 saw an increase of 14% in tonnage, but only of 3% in total power following the entry of a vessel of 3 900 GRT. Moreover, in October 2008, tonnage increased by 25%, but power only increased by 5%, following the entry of five vessels of 1 500 GRT each. Since September 2009 there have been continuous and proportionately uniform falls in tonnage and power, generally as a result of withdrawals of small or medium-sized vessels.

37 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Graph 7: Polish fleet. Percentage of the ceiling under the entry/exit regime

100%

95%

90%

85%

% TRB 80% % kW

75%

70%

65%

60% 01/05/2004 01/09/2004 01/01/2005 01/05/2005 01/09/2005 01/01/2006 01/05/2006 01/09/2006 01/01/2007 01/05/2007 01/09/2007 01/01/2008 01/05/2008 01/09/2008 01/01/2009 01/05/2009 01/09/2009 31/12/2009

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register. (Key: TRB - GRT.)

Immediately after Poland’s accession to the European Union the tonnage of the Polish fleet fell to 75% of the ceiling under the entry/exit regime. It then continued to fall, reaching 62% in November 2005. The margin continued to be very high until October 2008. Total power, however, has changed within much smaller margins and only fell below 85% for a short period at the end of 2005 and in April 2006. This is reflected in the exit of typical Baltic fishing fleet vessels and the entry of large pelagic trawlers with a much greater tonnage per vessel and greater power per vessel. Given that the opportunities for high-seas fishing have not increased substantially, the reasons behind this process must lie in the fall in profitability caused by the worsening margin between the price of fishery products and the price of fuel, which penalises the Baltic fleet.

In order to put the change in the Polish fleet into perspective, it should be compared to the change in the European Union fleet. Given that the EU-25 fleet accounts for over 97% of the EU-27 fleet, it is appropriate to use it as a benchmark as the comparison period is being extended by two years.

38 Fisheries in Poland

Graph 8: Polish fleet as a proportion of the EU-25 fleet

3%

2%

2% Buques TRB kW 1%

1%

0% 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register. (Key: buques - vessels; TRB - GRT.)

The changes in the Polish fleet have been slightly different from those in the European Union fleet. The falls in the number of vessels and in power have been slightly greater than those for the European Union fleet, especially as a result of the withdrawal of large vessels in 2004. Tonnage recovered, however, in 2008, with the incorporation of large pelagic trawlers.

Graph 9: Comparison of the principal parameters of the Polish and EU-25 fleets

2,4

2,2

2,0

1,8

1,6 TRB medio 1,4 kW medio kW / TRB UE 25 = 1 1,2

1,0

0,8

0,6

0,4 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register. (Key: UE 25=1 - EU-25=1; TRB medio - average GRT; kw medio - average kW; kW/TRB - kW/GRT.)

It can be seen that the average power per vessel in the Polish fleet is substantially higher than the figure for the EU-25 fleet as a whole. Average tonnage per vessel was also much

39 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

higher, but further increased in 2008, to double the Community average. However, power per tonne has gradually decreased and now stands at around half the EU-25 average. The change in these parameters shows that the decline in the number of vessels is taking place in addition to a process of renewal and modernisation, especially in relation to large pelagic trawlers.

6.4. Regional distribution of the fishing fleet

The larger vessels are registered at the ports in the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot region. Although only 6% of all vessels in the Polish fleet are registered there, they account for 60% of the fleet’s total tonnage and 26% of total power.

At the other end of the scale are the regions of Elblaski and Szczecinski. Taken together, the ports in those regions account for 28% of all vessels in the Polish fleet but only 5% of total tonnage and 13% of power. These two regions are the location of the bulk of the segment of the fleet involved in small-scale coastal fishing in the Szczecin and Masuria lagoons and have few or no vessels in the Baltic fleet.

Table 8: Regional distribution of the Polish fishing fleet (December 2010) % of the total fleet Average Average kW No of GRT kW GRT vessels GDAŃSK-GDYNIA- 48 22 248 22 623 464 471 SOPOT GDAŃSKI 257 6 128 24 639 24 96 SLUPSKI 113 3 154 12 528 28 111 ELBLASKI 54 137 2 353 3 44 KOSZALINSKI 154 3 820 15 709 25 102 SZCZECINSKI 168 1 548 8 857 9 53 TOTAL 794 37 036 86 708 47 109 Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

The segment of the fleet which could be regarded as most representative of the Baltic fishery is, however, located in the ports of Gdańsk, Slupski and Koszalinski. Some 66% of all vessels in the Polish fleet operate from these three regions, accounting for 35% of total tonnage and 61% of power.

40 Fisheries in Poland

Map 4: Regional distribution of the Polish fishing fleet

Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

41 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

42 Fisheries in Poland

7. PORTS

There are 59 landing points on the Polish Baltic Sea coast, including fishing ports and other places regarded as fishing ports. The three main fishing ports are Władysławowo, Kołobrzeg and Hel, where 75% of all landings are made.

Approximately half the landing points are on beaches and have few facilities; they usually consist of a simple jetty or winch to tow vessels onto the beach. There are ten larger fishing ports for larger vessels, especially those longer than 16 m, namely:  on the west coast, under the supervision of the Marine authorities in Szczecin: Świnoujście and Dziwnów;  on the central coast, under the supervision of the Marine authorities in Slupsk: Kołobrzeg, Darłowo, Ustka and Leba;  on the east coast, under the supervision of the Marine authorities in Gdynia: Władysławowo, Jastarnia, Hel and Gdynia.

Map 5: Principal fishing ports in Poland

The principal ports in terms of volume of landings, number of fishing vessels accommodated and facilities include Kołobrzeg, Darłowo, Ustka, Władysławowo and Hel. Poland also has three large commercial ports where the undertakings engaged in fishing on the high seas are registered; those ports are Świnoujście, Szczecin and Gdynia.

43 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Table 9: Main ports of fleet registration Avera- Avera- PORT NUTS 3 NUTS 2 Vessels GRT kW ge ge GRT kW Gdynia Gdańsk-Gdynia- Pomorskie 6 21 586 19 088 3 598 3 181 Sopot Władysławowo Gdański Pomorskie 58 3 714 12 366 64 213 Kołobrzeg Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 56 2 810 9 915 50 177 Ustka Slupski Pomorskie 74 2 545 9 307 34 126 Hel Gdański Pomorskie 22 1 298 4 225 59 192 Jastarnia Gdański Pomorskie 46 683 3 760 15 78 Dziwnów Szczecinski Zachodniopomorskie 19 584 2 396 31 126 Leba Slupski Pomorskie 33 578 3 005 18 91 Darłowo Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 33 575 2 825 17 86 Świnoujście Szczecinski Zachodniopomorskie 26 461 2 712 18 104 Gdańsk Gdańsk-Gdynia- Pomorskie 24 341 1 116 85 279 Sopot Górki Zachodnie Gdańsk-Gdynia- Pomorskie 24 167 1 052 42 263 Sopot Kuźnica Gdański Pomorskie 28 128 666 5 24 Chłopy Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 12 125 935 10 78 Uniesty Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 14 112 655 8 47 Trzebież Szczecinski Zachodniopomorskie 34 110 846 3 25 Jarosławiec Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 20 99 771 5 39 Ustronie Morskie Koszalinski Zachodniopomorskie 8 59 298 7 37 Nowa Pasłęka Elblaski Warminsko- 23 52 867 2 38 Mazurskie Górki Wschodnie Gdańsk-Gdynia- Pomorskie 2 51 303 25 152 Sopot Międzyzdroje Szczecinski Zachodniopomorskie 5 50 350 10 70 Mrzeżyno Szczecinski Zachodniopomorskie 24 49 320 12 80 Source: Own graph based on the Community fishing fleet register.

There are 75 ports where vessels are registered. However, 67% of the vessels, accounting for 98% of the total tonnage and 90% of the total power of the Polish fleet, are registered at only 22 ports.

44 Fisheries in Poland

8. THE PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Prior to 1990 there were five large State undertakings and more than 20 cooperatives and publicly funded processing plants producing smoked, gravad and cured fish. Since 1990 the privately funded processing industry has undergone great expansion in Poland. When it was at its largest it is estimated that there were over 400 processing plants employing 16 000 people. In 2008, the sector employed 17 595 people. Most undertakings (around 70%) are on the shoreline although there is also a considerable number of undertakings in southern areas, close to the major fishery products markets.

At the end of the 1990s the sector entered a phase of gradual consolidation and down-sizing prompted by the prospect of accession to the European Union and the need to modernise facilities and improve quality. It was hoped that the consolidation process would enable sufficient investment resources to be recovered to improve marketing levels. The growing flow of capital from abroad over the last few years is also significant. Only strong undertakings in a sound position were able to withstand these processes, and as a result some of the processing plants have disappeared or been absorbed by other, larger outfits. Between 1999 and 2009 the number of undertakings registered at the Veterinary Inspection Office fell from 388 to 248 but processing volumes and employment have increased and economic outcomes have improved. The processing industry is very important for the joint economy of the Polish fisheries sector.

Catches made by the high-seas fleet are processed on board and exported as fillets, frozen fish and fish-meal to markets in the EU and Japan. Most Baltic catches are landed at Polish ports and sold whole or gutted to fish-processing undertakings.

The lack of fish-meal production facilities means that a substantial proportion of catches is destined for direct human consumption. In 2005 around 30 000 t of fish, mainly sprat, were exported to Denmark to be made into fish-meal and a further 95 000 t were destined for human consumption.

There are two subsectors to the processing industry: first-stage processing, in other words separating the edible parts, and then transformation into highly processed products such as canned fish, gravad, smoked fish, cured fish and others.

Some 80% of all processing undertakings are small plants with fewer than 20 employees; 10% are medium-sized undertakings employing between 21 and 50 people, and the remaining 10% are large undertakings with over 50 employees. Following the consolidation process of recent years, the three largest such undertakings (with over 500 employees) together account for 22% of employment in the processing industry and control 75% of the market in processed fish products.

Herring accounts for 33% of the raw material for processing. White fish such as cod, Alaskan pollock, etc., rank second with 30% and sprat third with 14%. The Polish industry is using increasing amounts of imported raw material. This is because of the limited access of the Polish fleet to resources, the poor technical quality of Baltic fish and the liberalisation of external trade since the 1990s. More significantly, the imported raw materials and semi- processed products are usually pelagic fish such as herring and Atlantic mackerel. The trade in salmon has grown spectacularly over recent years. Most raw salmon is processed into smoked and other high value-added products and exported to Germany, Denmark or France. In 2005, Poland was the main supplier of smoked salmon to the German market.

45 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

Graph 10: Production of processed fishery products

90.000

80.000

70.000

60.000 Congelados Salazones 50.000 Ahumados Tm 40.000 Preparaciones Conservas en lata 30.000 Otros

20.000

10.000

0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Own graph. (Key: congelados - frozen; salazones - cured; ahumados - smoked; preparaciones - preparations; conservas en lata - canned; otros - other.)

The processing industry produces some 220 000 tonnes, and production of smoked fish is growing. Demand still outstrips local production and the Polish fish processing industry now depends on imports of raw materials. The production by factories of smoked, gravad and cured fish is dependent to a large extent on imported raw materials. Canning plants work with Polish fish (sprat and herring) as well as imports (chiefly herring, Atlantic mackerel and salmon). Imported frozen herring is used as the raw material for smoked and canned fish. White fish, such as Alaskan pollock, hake and Baltic cod are used principally in the production of frozen products.

46 Fisheries in Poland

9. MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION

Consumption in Poland of fish and fish by-products is low. It is half the average for the European Union. Nonetheless the fall in fish prices and changes in consumer preferences are stimulating consumption, especially of marine species.

Herring is traditionally the most consumed fish in Poland. In recent years, however, the Alaskan pollock has been challenging for the number one spot. Furthermore, consumption of pangasius is growing rapidly because of its low price. Consumption of salmon and tuna are also on the rise, although at a much lower rate. Hake consumption is falling, however. The most important freshwater species is the carp.

Despite a nominal increase, there has been a sharp drop in real prices charged by Baltic fishermen since 1990. During the economic transition, purchase prices for herring tripled and the prices of flounder and sprat rose five-fold. During the same period, the prices of consumer goods and services rose by a factor of 11 and the prices paid to farmers for vegetable and animal products by a factor of 6 or 7. That situation was mainly the consequence of fishermen’s weak position in the market and the intervention of several middlemen in fish marketing. Furthermore the deterioration in catch quality and new patterns of consumption towards imported products further aggravated the situation of Polish fishermen.

The significant fluctuation in prices at fishing ports is a problem. The fluctuations reflect sudden increases in supply, or lack of capacity at the port to act as a business outlet or process the volume of supply. The link between fishermen and the rest of the value chain at the first sale at the landing point is inadequate. Fish auctions at fish markets are inadequately developed. In turn, the lack of specialist wholesalers in the major cities restricts the distribution of fresh fish.

Despite the rapid transition from the centralised State system to the market economy, the fisheries sector is hampered by a lack of structures for auctions and marketing. Since 1992, (when the State monopoly, Centrala Rybna, was dissolved) transactions have been inconsistent and very unfair. On occasions, dealers are late making payments and there are often surpluses or shortages in the supply of herring and consequently price instability.

There is plenty of room for improvement in the collation and dissemination of information on fisheries in Poland. Shortcomings at auctions make it difficult to set prices in a transparent fashion at first sale, to the fishermen’s detriment. Moreover, the lack of wholesale markets obstructs transparent price-setting in urban markets and makes distribution problematic.

Fish is marketed in over 1 200 establishments ranging from specialist shops to supermarkets and hypermarkets. The proliferation of supermarket chains encourages better distribution and greater consumption of fresh fish. The largest hypermarkets include a wide variety of fresh, frozen and processed fish among their wares and allocate a relatively large area to fish sales. Towns, by contrast, especially the smaller ones, still have travelling fishmongers.

There are first sale fish markets (LCPSR) at the four main fishing ports. However, the volumes marketed there continue to be small. Only in Kołobrzeg is the volume of sales substantial. In Ustka, however, the volume of sales is not sufficient to cover operating costs. These markets are not attractive to fishermen, who still prefer to conduct a significant proportion of fish sales through direct contracts with clients. Local centres were established to

47 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

transfer management to small producer organisations via sale or lease. This was done in Darłowo in November 2009, a town whose fish market had been inactive for five years.

There are six Producer Organisations in Poland, all established between 2004 and 2005. Warsaw is the base for Północnoatlantycka Organizacja Producentów Sp. z o.o.(North Atlantic Producers Organisation), which is focused on high-seas fisheries. Toruń is home to the Organizacja Pracodawców – Producentów Ryb Śródlądowych (Inland Fisheries Employers and Producers Organisation).

The other four producer organisations are active in the field of coastal and local fisheries. Krajowa Izba Producentów Ryb (National Chamber of Fishery Producers) is based in Ustka, Zrzeszenie Rybaków Morskich – Organizacja Producentów (Association of Marine Fishermen - Producers Organisation) in Gdynia, Organizacja Producentów Rybnych Władysławowo Sp. z o.o.(Władysławowo Fishery Producers Organisation) in Władysławowo and Kołobrzeska Grupa Producentów Ryb Sp. z o.o. (Fishery Producers Group) in Kołobrzeg.

External trade in fish and fish by-products constitutes a significant proportion of Poland’s trade in foodstuffs and agricultural products. Poland has a deficit in external trade in fishery products.

Although both imports and exports are experiencing sustained growth, imports are growing more quickly. As a result the external trade balance is gradually worsening. In 2010, there was a deficit of over 250 000 t.

Fish is chiefly exported to the European Economic Area, especially to the EU Member States. Since enlargement, approximately 85% of fish exports have been within the EU. Poland mainly exports fresh fish (Baltic sprat) to the EU, along with fish fillets, canned fish, fishery products and smoked fish (salmon and trout).

Fresh fish is top among fish exports, followed by processed products and canned fish. Sprat is the chief export for fish-meal production and herring and cod are landed directly in ports in the Netherlands, Sweden and Russia. Smoked salmon, trout and prawns are also significant in terms of value. Smoked salmon exports in particular are experiencing sustained growth and their principal destination is Germany.

48 Fisheries in Poland

Graph 11: Poland's external trade in fishery products

500.000

400.000

300.000

200.000 Import 100.000 Export Tm Balance 0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 -100.000

-200.000

-300.000

Source: Eurostat. Own graph.

Since the 1980s, over half of Polish exports by Poland of fishery products were conducted directly from high-seas vessels by transshipment to third-country vessels.

When Exclusive Economic Zones were extended to 200 nautical miles, the Polish fleet gradually lost access to fishing-grounds and had to move to more distant grounds or pay ever-increasing fees for access to resources. Poland therefore instigated a practice known as ‘klondyking’. It consisted in buying fish from vessels flying other flags, processing it on board and exporting the frozen fillets. The practice was extended in the North Pacific under bilateral agreements with Canada and Russia.

In principle, the practice was beneficial to both parties. The Polish vessels continued their activities and the other party received immediate, stable economic recompense. The deal ended when Russia decided not to allocate quotas to foreign vessels in the Bering or Okhotsk Seas because of the poor state of resources. The agreement with Canada ended when Polish vessels were unable to pay the high prices demanded for the fish. This led to the bankruptcy of two of the three high-seas fishery companies. Such practices with other countries are unusual today.

Imports, mostly raw materials in refrigerated or frozen form, are subsequently processed. Historically the main imported species have been first and foremost herring, with Atlantic mackerel following a long way behind. In line with patterns of consumption, herring is gradually being replaced by Alaskan pollock, hake, salmon and tuna. Imports of pangasius have been growing quickly but it remains to be seen whether this trend will bed down in the long term. Imports of frozen Atlantic mackerel are also falling.

Fish, fillets and other frozen processed fish accounted for the largest proportion of the total volume of imports in 2003. That figure was even higher in the mid-1990s but imports of frozen fish have been falling year on year whereas imports of fresh and canned fish have been growing. Fish and fish by-products have traditionally come from EFTA countries, especially Norway, but that flow of trade has been falling since 1998 in favour of other places of origin such as Argentina, Thailand, China and Vietnam. The principal suppliers within the

49 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

European Union are Denmark and the Netherlands. The Polish import market for good-quality raw materials will hold up because of the ongoing decline in national supply and the growing strength of demand in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Poland, with its abundance of access ports and central geographic location, is also an ideal place for transshipment of raw materials destined for the processing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

Graph 12: Average prices of imports and exports of fishery products

6,0

5,0

4,0

Import 3,0 Export € / Kg

2,0

1,0

0,0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: Eurostat. Own graph.

Price averages reflect the fact that imports to a large extent consist of raw materials for processing and the fact that exports consist largely of processed products. Those averages are much higher for exports than for imports. The variability of price averages for exports is much greater, however. That is because of the variations in sprat exports, which are much less valuable than exports of processed products.

50 Fisheries in Poland

10. EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND

The Operational Programme ‘Sustainable Development of the Fisheries Sector and Coastal Fishing Areas 2007-2013’ is the document setting out guidelines for the use of the Structural Funds in Poland for the period 2007-2013. It is structured around five axes.

Table 10: Operational Programme 2007-2013 AXIS PROGRAMMING Percentage of Millions EUR the TOTAL TOTAL EFF 1. Adjustment of fishing effort. 225.1 168.8 23% 2. Investment in aquaculture, processing and 195.8 146.8 20% marketing of fishery and aquaculture products.

3. Measures of common interest. 195.8 146.8 20% 4. Sustainable development of fisheries areas. 313.2 234.9 32% 5. Technical assistance. 48.9 0.0 5% TOTAL 978.8 734.1 100%

The European Fisheries Fund covers 75% of the cost of each of the programmed measures. The axis allocated the greatest funding was axis 4 (sustainable development of fisheries areas), with 32% of the total. Axis 1 (adjustment of fishing effort) attracted the second- largest sum, with 23%, while investment and measures of common interest were each allocated 20% and technical assistance just 5%.

The sums provided for in respect of the Polish Operational Programme 2007-2013 are the highest of all the Baltic country programmes. In the entire EU, only the Spanish programme is larger in financial terms. The Polish programme accounts for 61% of all Baltic country programmes. Denmark and Sweden, the countries with the two largest Baltic Sea fleets, account for 11% and 6% respectively.

Now that over half the programming period for the operational programme has been completed, it is clear that implementation is uneven; indeed, for some axes it is very low or even non-existent. For example, no expenditure had been committed for any action under the axis where the provision of funds was highest, namely sustainable development of fisheries areas, or for technical assistance. Over half of the amount programmed for axis 2, which covers investment in aquaculture, processing and marketing, has been committed but barely 10% of payments have been made.

However, 40% of the programmed expenditure on adjustment of the fishing effort and measures of general interest has been committed. The area in which the greatest percentage of the programmed sums has been committed and paid is in the adjustment of the fishing effort. The option most often taken up is cessation of activity, especially in relation to cod fishing in the Baltic.

51 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

52 Fisheries in Poland

11. INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE BALTIC

Measures to encourage sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region have become much more coordinated in recent years. The European Union adopted a strategy for the Baltic Sea region in 2009. In 2007, the Helsinki Commission renewed its Baltic Sea Action Plan and in the same year the Council of the Baltic Sea States initiated its process of reform to address long-term priorities, namely the environment, economic development, energy, education and culture, civil security and the human dimension.

11.1. IBSFC

The International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission was established pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources in the Baltic Sea and the Belts (Gdansk Convention) signed on 13 September 1973.

Article 1 of the Convention defines the powers of the IBSFC in the following terms: ‘The Contracting States shall: co-operate closely with a view to preserving and increasing the living resources of the Baltic Sea and the Belts and obtaining the optimum yield, and, in particular to expanding and co-ordinating studies towards these ends […].’

Article 9 sets out the Commission’s duty to coordinate the management of the living resources and the fisheries in the Convention area by collecting, aggregating, analysing and disseminating statistical data, for example concerning catch, fishing effort, and other information.

The membership of the Commission changed as a result of the accession of the European Economic Community to the Convention on 18 March 1984, as both Denmark and the Federal Republic of Germany withdrew from the Convention at the same time. German reunification in 1990 reduced the number of Contracting States to five. In 1992 the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania acceded to the Convention. Finland and Sweden became Member States of the European Community on 1 January 1995 and withdrew from the Convention as a result. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland also withdrew from the Convention following their accession to the European Union.

At that point, 95% of the waters in the Convention area were Community waters and the remaining 5% were Russian. The waters were therefore a matter for bilateral relations. It was disproportionate and inefficient for an international fisheries organisation such as the ICBFC to serve as a framework for the bilateral management of the fishery resources of the Baltic Sea. The Council therefore decided on 20 December 2004 to withdraw the Community from the Gdansk Convention. The IBSFC ceased to exist on 1 January 2007.

11.2. HELSINKI COMMISSION

The Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental co-operation between Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

53 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

HELCOM is the governing body of the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area’ - more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

HELCOM's main goal is to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution, and to restore and safeguard its ecological balance.

For the first time ever, all the sources of pollution around an entire sea were made subject to a single convention, signed in 1974 by the then seven Baltic coastal states. The 1974 Convention entered into force on 3 May 1980.

In the light of political changes, and developments in international environmental and maritime law, a new Convention was signed in 1992 by all the states bordering the Baltic Sea, and the European Community. After ratification the Convention entered into force on 17 January 2000. The Convention covers the whole of the Baltic Sea area, including inland waters as well as the water of the sea itself and the sea-bed. Measures are also being taken in the whole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution.

HELCOM’s priorities are as follows:  eutrophication, especially the contribution of agriculture  hazardous substances  land transport sector  maritime transport sector, including implementation of the Baltic Strategy  environmental impacts of fishery management and practices  protection and conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity  implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme and HELCOM Recommendations

The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan is an ambitious programme to restore the good ecological status of the Baltic marine environment by 2021.

The environmental situation in the Baltic Sea has changed drastically over recent decades. Human activities both at sea and throughout the sea’s catchment area are placing rapidly increasing pressure on marine ecosystems. Of the many environmental challenges, the most serious and difficult to tackle with conventional approaches is the continuing eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Inputs of hazardous substances also affect the biodiversity of the Baltic Sea and the potential for its sustainable use.

Drawn up in 2005, the goal of the plan is a healthy marine environment, with diverse biological components functioning in equilibrium, resulting in a good ecological status and supporting a wide range of sustainable human activities.

The key points of the Action Plan are:

 Eutrophication Goal: A Baltic Sea unaffected by excessive inputs of nutrients o reduction in the high concentration of nutrients o restoration of clear water, o recovery of natural oxygen levels o reduction in excessive algal blooms o recovery of the natural distribution and occurrence of plants and animals

 Hazardous substances Goal: Concentrations of hazardous substances close to natural levels

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o reduction in general concentrations o healthy wildlife o all fish safe to eat

 Maritime activities Goal: Maritime traffic and activities carried out in an environmentally friendly way o reduction in accidents and consequent harm to the marine environment o maritime activities must not cause any damage to the marine environment

 Biodiversity Goal: favourable conservation status of biodiversity o recovery of natural marine and coastal landscapes o restoration of balanced communities of plants and animals o restoration of the natural diversity of species o establishment of viable populations of all species.

11.3. BALTIC 21 (Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region)

The Saltsjöbaden Declaration of October 1996 provides the terms of reference for the establishment of Baltic 21 and the Baltic 21 process. The Ministers for regional planning in the Baltic Sea region decided to focus their efforts on sustainable development and coordination of relevant activities. Baltic 21 includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, north-western parts of the Russian Federation and Sweden. The European Union is also involved in drafting Agenda 21.

Baltic 21 is a process steered by the Senior Officials Group (SOG), with the help of members from the Governments of the CBSS, the European Commission, NGOs, intergovernmental organisations like HELCOM, VASAB (Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea), the International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission (IBSFC), Nordic Council of Ministers, international development banks (World Bank, EBRD, EIB, NIB (Nordic Investment Bank)) and Nefco (Nordic Environment Finance Corporation).

The emphasis of Baltic 21 is on regional co-operation and the environment and the bearing of economic and social aspects of sustainable development The work focuses on seven sectors of crucial economic and environmental importance to the region. For each sector, goals and scenarios for sustainable development have been drawn up, as well as a sector- based action programme including time-frames, actors and funding. Responsibility for the work in each sector is distributed among the SOG members. The seven sectors and their lead parties are: Agriculture (HELCOM and Sweden), Energy (Denmark and Estonia), Fisheries (IBSFC), Forestry (Finland and Lithuania), Industry (Russia and Sweden), Tourism (Estonia, Finland, Baltic Sea Tourism Commission) and Transport (Germany and Latvia). Around 300 people from the region have been involved in the work on the Baltic 21 initiative.

55 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies

The following aspects of fisheries have been addressed under the initiative:  marine, coastal, and inland fisheries  aquaculture, including release of fish in early life stages  the decision-making process  description of legal framework  effect of fisheries on the ecosystem  effect of hydrographic conditions on fish stocks  effect of pollution on fish stocks  effect of harmful substances on fish stocks  the importance of fisheries to local communities  regulatory measures (closed areas/periods, gear, volume of landings, reporting procedures)  by-catch of seabirds and mammals  endangered fish species  control and enforcement  fleet capacity  cross-sectoral issues.

The development of economically and socially sustainable, environmentally safe and responsible fisheries is to be achieved by:  maintaining biologically viable fish stocks, the marine and aquatic environment and associated biodiversity;  within these limits, establishing maximum fishing quotas and appropriate selective fishing gear for harvesting the various stocks;  distributing the direct and indirect benefits of high-sea and coastal fishery resources between local communities in an equitable manner.

Since January 2010 Baltic 21 has been integrated into the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) as an Expert Group on Sustainable Development - Baltic 21. The mandate of the CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Development - Baltic 21 was adopted by the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials on 20 October 2009. The mandate sets out the mission, principal functions, organisational matters and strategic areas of cooperation of the Expert Group for the period 2010-2015.

The group’s goal is to contribute actively towards advancing sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region by coordinating goals and activities, and by serving as a forum for cooperation across borders and between stakeholder groups, as well as supporting the long- term priorities of the Council. The working group cooperates with numerous regional organisations and structures, including CBSS working groups, BASREC (Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation), HELCOM, VASAB, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation and the Union of the Baltic Cities.

The four strategic areas of cooperation for the years 2010 to 2015 are as follows:  climate change;  sustainable consumption and production;  sustainable urban and rural development;  innovations and education for sustainable development.

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12. RESEARCH

There are two scientific institutes in Poland which conduct fisheries research.

The Sea Fisheries Institute at Gdynia was founded in 1921 and is Poland’s oldest marine research centre. A large, well-equipped scientific centre, it is one of the research institutes which are part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Its main areas of research are biology, oceanography and marine ecology, fish processing technology and fishery economics. The principal task of the Institute is to formulate and supply a scientific basis for the rational use and exploitation of living marine resources. The Institute’s research is the basis upon which catch quotas are set and it contributes to the development of the European Research Area. In order to conduct its surveys in the Baltic Sea the Institute owns the Baltica, a 41 m long vessel capable of multi-objective research. The Institute works with foreign scientific institutions from Sweden, Germany and other Baltic countries, and with bodies in Northern Europe and North America.

The Inland Fisheries Institute at Olsztyn, which was founded in 1951, conducts research into inland fisheries and aquaculture, especially methods of optimising fishery and aquaculture production in fresh water, aquaculture, fisheries techniques and fishery economics. Other tasks include the collection, processing and dissemination of the results of scientific research, and helping to put them into practice, optimising research and development methods, training, providing information on scientific, technical and economic matters and innovations, developing methods of analysing and evaluating the state of inland fisheries and changes thereto, working with project-standardising committees and evaluating rationalisation projects.

Other centres for marine research are the Faculty of Marine Fisheries at the Academy of Agriculture and the Maritime University of Szczecin, which provides training for fishing vessel crews and offers postgraduate and specialist courses as well as conducting other scientific research. The Institute of Oceanology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot and the Marine Biology Centre at the Polish Academy of Sciences at Gdynia conduct studies into the marine environment, ecosystems, biochemistry and genetics of marine organisms.

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Directorate-General FOR Internal Policies POLICY DEPARTMENT Directorate-General FOR Internal Policies STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIESB

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The Policy Departments are research units that provide specialised advice Fisheries to committees, inter-parliamentary delegations and other parliamentary bodies. Fisheries RegionalRegional Development Development Policy Areas TransportTransport and andTourism Tourism Agriculture and Rural Development Culture and Education Fisheries Regional Development Transport and Tourism

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