APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090018-7
decreased 20% by volume and 5% by value. The number of professional fishermen has been declining steadily, and in 1970 it stood at 5,177 — down more than 40% from 1960. The total value of Sweden's 1970 catch (US$52 million) amounted to less than 0.2% of the GNP.
About three-fifths of Sweden's total catch is exported, mainly as direct landings in Denmark. A steadily rising domestic demand for fish, however, has led to an increasing dependence during the past decade on foreign direct landings in Sweden to supply the Swedish market. Sweden now has a substantial import surplus of fishery products in terms of both value and quantity. The most significant fish imports are cured fish products and marine animal oils, primarily from Norway and Denmark.
Herring and herring-like fish are generally the most important species taken by Swedish fishermen, generally accounting for about half of the total catch until 1970. In 1970, however, declining herring stocks in the northeast Atlantic due to overfishing and to the southern migration of these fish, coupled with unusually large increases in industrial fish catches, decreased the chare of herring to one-third of the total catch that year, while industrial fish accounted for half of the total catch. In 1971, the catch of industrial fish returned to a more nominal level and accounted for 38% of the total. Cod, mackerel, and haddock are other important species taken. Total domestic and foreign landings of the several species were as follows in 1969-71, in thousands of metric tons, landed weight:
| 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total catch | 259.4 | 277.4 | 217.1 |
| Industrial fish | 77.2 | 138.7 | 82.3 |
| Herring (including Baltic herring) | 124.1 | 89.3 | 86.9 |
| Cod | 24.9 | 22.8 | 47.9 |
| Haddock | 5.1 | 8.7 | |
| Mackerel | 10.8 | 3.4 |
Most of Sweden's fishing is conducted along the west coast in the rich fishing grounds of the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, and the North Sea. The west coast fishermen account for about three-fourths of Sweden's annual fish catches. Some Swedish vessels also operate in the seas near Ireland and Iceland. Fishing in the Baltic Sea is much less productive because of the low salinity of that body of water. Increased dumping of industrial wastes into the Baltic has aggravated the problem. In addition to engaging in sea fishing, Swedish fishermen take an estimated 10,500 tons of fresh water fish annually from the country's lakes and rivers.
Since 1945 the number of vessels in the fishing fleet has declined, but the fleet has been continually modernized. At the end of 1970, the fleet numbered approximately 6,600 vessels, of which nearly 5,800 were motorized. Trawling is the most productive method of fishing used by the Swedes. Trawlers account for almost three-fourths of the herring landed, as well as most of the bottom fish such as cod, haddock, and whiting. Swedish fishermen who use Danish seines, large nets suitable for deep sea fishing. Except for a few eel and salmon fishermen, most Swedish fishermen are self-employed and own their own vessels and gear, either individually or jointly.
Per capita consumption of fish in Sweden is among the highest in Europe. In 1970 Sweden consumed an estimated 181,100 metric tons of fish, 61% of which was imported and two-thirds of which was frozen or otherwise processed. There has been a marked increased in recent years in consumer preference for frozen fillets and for the more expensive varieties of fish and shellfish in processed form, to the detriment of the market for fresh fish. Refrigerating facilities, combined with fast inland transport, make possible on efficient and dependable supply of fresh and frozen fish to the consumer. Part of the catch, principally herring, is used for a wide variety of canned and cured products. Canned sardines and anchovies, fish balls, caviar and other fish roe, as well as smoked eel and salmon are also produced.
The manufacture of protein concentrates is claiming an increasing share of the industrial fish catch. The pharmaceutical firm AB Astra's plant at Bua on the Swedish west coast, for example, converts imported fishmeal into protein concentrate for animal feed (primarily for pig farms). Output of the plant reached approximately 7,000 metric tons in 1967.
Swedish policy has been to support and regulate fisheries so that fishermen might have a standard of living comparable to that enjoyed by employees in other sectors. Government support in the form of loans and price and marketing regulations, supplemented by restrictions on foreign trade, is considered a short-term measure. The long-term aim is to increase the efficiency of the fisheries and of the marketing system and thus, ultimately, to lessen the need for support.
The reduced availability of herring and sagging prices for fish landed abroad have led many fishermen into financial straits. These difficulties and the necessity of maintaining the small fishing villages in the north because of defense considerations led the government to pass in the spring of 1970 a number of financial support measures. They included government loan guarantees amounting to about US$4
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090018-7
