The "Centrala Rybna" enterprise in the years 1945–1989. A contribution to research

Abstract

After Poland regained free access to the Baltic Sea after the end of World War II, it was possible to exploit the fishing grounds in this area. For this purpose, from 1945, the communist authorities dynamically developed fishing, processing, and distribution of fish and fish products. One of the elements of this system was the structures of the multipurpose, monopolistic enterprise "Centrala Rybna", discussed in this two-part article. The first one talks about the history of its establishment and the structural changes that affected "Centrala". In addition to the presentation of the structure, emphasis was placed on the territorial scope of the company's activities, which became especially visible after the territorial reform of 1975. Some of the investments were also presented, the main purpose of which was to expand the entity's operations or replace incomplete fixed assets. It ends with a presentation of the company's privatization process. The second part of the text discusses issues related to its actual effectiveness, showing the production volume against the background of all market supplies, the impact of the "Centrala" on the increase in the consumption of fish and marine organisms, and the range of individual products with particular emphasis on the most technologically advanced canned fish production.