Sustainable fisheries make economic sense

A summary of nef
fisheries research

Fact Sheet March 1, 2013 Read time:

Projects: OCEAN2012

Fisheries ministers can create jobs and help their countries’ economies by setting clear targets for the restoration of EU fish stocks.

Fish are a renewable resource: if well managed they can provide endless benefits to society in terms of food, revenue and jobs. Unfortunately, around two thirds of assessed EU stocks are now over-exploited. This means smaller catches, lower revenues and fewer jobs than if the stocks were at their maximum sustainable yield. Taking action to end overfishing is still widely perceived as bad news for the fishing industry. But nef’s Jobs Lost at Sea report estimates that restoring 43 overfished European stocks to a biomass that supports their maximum sustainable yield (BMSY) would deliver the following benefits:

3.5 million tonnes more fish landed each year (enough to meet the annual fish demand of almost 160 million EU citizens).
An additional £2.7 billion revenues generated each year from these extra landings, of which £1.5 billion would go to EU27 countries.
100,000 new jobs created, of which 83,000 would be in the EU27. This would allow the EU fishing sector to sustain 31 per cent more jobs.