Perspectives of the Ukrainian Aquatic Food Sector Institutional Development: Theoretical and Methodological Basis of Researching

Topicality. The legislative activity in Ukraine is focused, first of all, on revealing the internal driving forces and activating the activities of aquaculture development entities within the country. On the other hand, post-war recovery plans are developed and constantly being finalized taking into account possible assistance from other countries and, first of all, from European states. Therefore, the problem of closer integration of these two areas of activity arises, one of which belongs to legislative work, and the other to the sphere of economic planning. To strengthen the interconnection and integration of these areas of work, it is necessary to form a single conceptual and methodological basis that allows adapting the achievements of world economic science and, first of all, institutional economics to the specific institutional problems of the development of the Ukrainian economy and, in particular, in this case, the institutional problems of the development of its aqua-food sector. Therefore, the relevance of developing theoretical and methodological principles for analyzing the prospects of institutional development in relation to the aqua-food sector is beyond doubt. Aim and tasks. Using the example of the conceptual and methodological justification of the strategy for creating such an institution of real development in Ukraine as an aqua-food holding, we show the objective economic necessity of Ukraine's transition from the left-liberal model of spontaneous development to the model of managed development, which is based, first of all, on the ordo-liberal concept of indirect management of the economy through institutions of real development. Materials and methods. The study uses materials from scientific publications and economic reviews on the development of aquaculture in Ukraine and abroad. The methodological basis is institutional analysis, a comparative historical approach and the method of systemic generalization. The most important methodological basis of the study is formed by the methodological principles of German ordo-liberalism, which is closely related to classical American institutionalism. Research results. The analysis of the possibilities of using the institutional experience of agro-holdings in the aqua-food sector showed the need to fully take into account an important negative feature of the agro-food sector, related to the fact that we observe here practically simultaneously «state failures» and «market failures». «State failures» in the broad sense (covering fish inspection bodies, sanitary and environmental control, as well as local authorities) are manifested in this area in those institutional factors that inhibit the creation of new aquaculture enterprises. On the other hand, «market failures» are manifested, first of all, in the inhibition of the technological development of aquaculture farms, which at this stage of development objectively requires integrated management of the process of «digital» modernization of the aqua-food complex. Conclusion. From the point of view of long-term economic prospects, the creation of aqua-food holdings in Ukraine and, on this basis, the development of aquaculture in accordance with European standards of quality and sanitary safety, act only as the first, initial stage of the formation of an aqua-food cluster. Further transition to vertical integration and diversification of production may require, at the second stage of the formation of the aqua-food cluster, the creation of an investment company for the full development of aquaculture processing. This opens up the prospect of the systematic formation of a regional aqua-food cluster, which will combine aquaculture farms and industrial processing into a single technological system for the production of widely diversified final products.