EU fishing fleet sees improved profitability but structural challenges remain

The Commission has released the 2024 Annual Economic Report on the European Union fishing fleet, showing a substantial improvement in the fleet's economic performance, with gross profits increasing from both 2022 and 2023 to a projected €1,673 million in 2024. The improvement is attributed to factors including: progress in achieving sustainable stocks, higher average first-sale prices for several key species, a reduction in fishing capacity, a decrease in fuel prices, and a decrease in fuel consumption.

The improvement as regards sustainability of EU fish stocks, driven by EU measures to reduce fishing effort over past years, has proven economically beneficial: fleets targeting stocks exploited sustainably over several years tend to improve both profitability and salaries. The study also shows that moving to less fuel-intensive fishing techniques brings not only environmental benefits but also decreases costs and strengthens socio-economic resilience.

Structural challenges for the fleet include aging vessels. The number of inactive vessels in the EU fleet continues to increase, representing 25% of the EU fleet register, and the socio-economic performance of small-scale coastal fishing fleets is lagging behind.

European Green Deal Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčovič (pictured) said: “The prosperity of our fisheries sector is crucial for thriving coastal communities. While the sector shows signs of recovery from the energy crisis, we must continue working on stock recovery for more resilient fisheries communities. We must also double our efforts to transition towards low carbon energy uses and less energy-demanding vessels, gear and fishing methods. The EU will continue doing our utmost to support a competitive and sustainable sector."

 You can find more information here.

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