Albania's fishery industry, which was underdeveloped and poorly managed, consisted of four state-owned fishing enterprises, sixteen aquaculture enterprises, and two shellfish enterprises. The government foresaw little trouble in privatizing all of the country's fishing vessels but anticipated difficulty in selling off the three fish canneries and the only shipyard servicing the fishing and coastal transportation fleet. World Bank and European Community economists reported that Albania's fishing industry had good potential to generate export earnings because prices in the nearby Greek and Italian markets were many times higher than those in the Albanian market. Albania's coastal waters were overfished, and foreign economists advised the Albanian government to protect its piscine resources from illegal exploitation by vessels from other European countries.
Data as of April 1992