In the aftermath of the Second World War, states across the world sought to expand industrial fishing to both feed and employ their populations. This article examines the structure of the post-war fishing political economies in two countries separated by the Cold War divide: the Soviet Union and Norway. Their political-economic organization and governing ideologies differed, yet many of the goals and objectives of resource management were similar. The mechanisms to enforce regulation, however, were widely divergent, reflecting varying configurations of state power and social control.