Long-term (1920-2010) changes of the Polish long-distance and the Baltic Sea fishery structure … an effect of mutual concurrence or a decree of the fate?

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

This study reflects the long‐term (1920–2010) changes in the structures of the Polish long‐distance and Baltic Sea fisheries, considered in light of variation in the state’s economic system. The species composition of annual landings, technical support, and employment in the fisheries is analysed. Development of the Baltic fishery was initiated after World War I, with the logistical and technical support of the government. In 1920, the Polish fishing fleet operated in the Baltic Sea only and was composed of 55 motor‐cutters, 16 sail‐cutters, and 800 smaller boats, managed by private owners, locally associated in the Kashubian Maszoperia. At that time 1086 fishers were active and annual landings were 800 tons, with sprat, flatfish, and herring dominant. In 1931, eight Polish vessels operated outside the Baltic for the first time. From 1947, the Baltic fishery was conducted by cooperative, private, and state fleets. Dynamic development of the long‐distance fishery, which was steered by the state, started in 1960 and over the next 30 years dominated the Baltic fishery. The historically highest landing (816.7 × 103 tons) of marine species was recorded in 1975, of which 74% originated from 130 vessels operating outside the Baltic. In 1999, total landings decreased by about four times and only 42% was achieved outside the Baltic. In the 1990s the process of privatization of the Polish fishing fleet started. At the beginning of the 2000s, a gradual collapse of the long‐distance fishery (in 2010 four vessels remained) was observed. In 2004–2010, 501 (38%) Polish vessels were removed from the Baltic fishery, and annual landings decreased by 28%.