The 2019 annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet shows that the high levels of economic performance in 2016 have continued into 2017, thanks to the use of sustainable fishing methods.
Commenting on the report, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, said, “This report shows that good results come with good practices. Over the course of my mandate, I have emphasised the fundamental importance of sustainable fishing. Europe’s fishers are seeing the benefits."
In 2017, the EU fleet registered a net profit of €1.30 billion, only slightly lower than the record €1.34 million registered in 2016. The continued strong performance was the result of higher average fish prices, continued low fuel prices, and the improved status of some stocks. This trend is expected to continue into 2018 and 2019 despite some fluctuations in fuel prices.
The sustainable exploitation of fish stocks was identified as key with the report indicating that economic performance stagnates where fleets depend on stocks that are overfished. While the entire EU fleet was profitable, the results varied by scale of operation and by fishing region.
As expected, the large-scale and distant-water fleet segments registered higher economic performance than the small-scale coastal fleet segments. Furthermore, the fleet segments operating in the North Eastern Atlantic, where most stocks are being fished sustainably, registered higher economic performance than those operating in the Mediterranean, which has a continued, albeit improving, problem of overfishing.
