US embassy cable - 05WARSAW1273

UNCLAS WARSAW 001273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE: TARA ERATH AND MICHAEL SESSUMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIS, ECON, PL, Economy, EU 
SUBJECT: POLISH FISHING INDUSTRY: THE HAPPY UNEMPLOYED 
 
1. Per EU requirements, Poland is in the middle of 
restructuring its Baltic fishing fleet to meet EU 
requirements.  Part of that process includes the reduction 
of the fleet by scrapping vessels and compensating the 
vessel owners and operators.  The Restructuring Agency 
responsible for implementing this system has approved 
agreements to scrap 183 Polish fishing vessels and 
compensate 1,000 fishermen who worked on those vessels.  On 
average, each vessel owner receives 1 million zloty 
($333,000) while each fisherman that worked on a scrapped 
vessel receives 10,000 EUR ($13,000).  European Union 
structural funds pay for 75% of the program cost, while the 
state budget pays the other 25%. 
 
2. The Deputy Director of the Fisheries Department in the 
Ministry of Agriculture, Lech Kempczynski, said that the 
scrapping program is extremely popular among Polish 
fisherman.  The Restructuring Agency, which he chairs, 
received over 260 applications to scrap boats.  He believes 
that the agency is effectively striking a balance between 
thinning the fishing fleet and permanently damaging Poland's 
fishing industry. 
 
3. Shortly after the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, 
Polish media reported that some of these scrapped boats 
would be transferred to the affected areas to provide 
replacement vessels for those lost in the catastrophe. 
Kempczynski said that, while this was a noble idea and good 
politically, the scrapped vessels were instead being 
destroyed.  He said that the cost of refitting the Baltic- 
Sea vessels to operate in warm water was prohibitive. 
 
4. Poland's entry into the EU also requires the country's 
fishing industry to conform to EU quotas.  Kempczynski 
described the procedure whereby the quotas are established 
as a give-and-take process where none of the parties come 
out completely satisfied.  In general, however, he said that 
of the quotas for Baltic fish, Polish fishermen only roundly 
criticize the one for cod.  Under the EU quota, Poland can 
harvest 14,000 tons of cod, whereas they previously operated 
under a quota of 16,000 tons.  The other main species 
harvested in the Baltic are herring, sprout, and salmon. 
 
Ashe 
 
 
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 2005WARSAW01273 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED