Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) - Report of the Working Group on the Balance between Fishing Capacity and Resources: Part II (SGECA/SGRST 08-01) - Joint Working Group on Economic Affairs (SGECA) and on Stock Reviews (SGRST) of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF)

Abstract

It is widely recognised that there exists an imbalance between the capacity of the EU fishing fleet and available fishing opportunities, however, quantifying the extent of the 'imbalance' has proved hard to achieve. SGECA/SGRST-08-02 was held on 19th to 22th February 2008 in Brussels and focussed on the development and calculation of balance indicators to be included in Member States (MS) annual fleet capacity reports so that fishery managers can use the indicators to identify where imbalances exist, and act accordingly. The WG, which included biologists and economists, used aggregated data collected under the DCR to calculate technical and economic indicators while the biological indicators were calculated using the latest information from ICES in addition to other data sources. The indicators were calculated for each fleet segment in each MS where data was available; however more emphasis was placed on the methods employed rather than the results. STECF reviewed the report of the SGECA/SGRST 08-02 Working Group during its plenary meeting on 14th to 18th April 2008.