Deliverable 2.2
Economic performance of selected European and Canadian fisheries
Executive Summary
This deliverable analyses recent productivity developments in some of the most important capture fisheries in Europe. Using data on specific fleet segments, productivity growth has been compared between the demersal fisheries in UK, Spain, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as the pelagic fisheries in the UK, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
In this study, output is measured as total landings of the sum of the most important demersal or pelagic species and an aggregate stock is compiled from stock assessments of the corresponding stocks. Capital is measured as a three-dimensional capacity index, where allowance is made for the number of vessels in each fleet segment, as well as average length and engine size. Labour is measured as the number of employed. The period spanned by the data differs, and is in some cases quite short.
Two measures of multifactor productivity have been compiled; 2-factor productivity (2-FP) which analyses the interplay between landings on the one hand and capital and labour on the other hand, and 3-factor productivity (3-FP), which also takes into consideration the impact that changes in stock size have on productivity.
In the demersal fisheries, productivity grew on average by 1.5% in the Faroese fisheries over the period 1994-2014. The second highest growth was observed for the UK fleet, 1.2%, but the time period is much shorter or only 2009-2014. Productivity was stagnant in Iceland but declined on average by 0.5% in the Norwegian fisheries during 2003-2014. The Spanish NAFO fleet experienced an average productivity decline of 8.1% during 2007-2014. Smaller fleet capacity and lower employment have had a positive effect on the productivity growth in the demersal fisheries, but growing stocks have led to deteriorating productivity.
The UK pelagic fisheries outperformed the corresponding fisheries in Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The UK productivity growth amounted on average to 15% during 2009-2014, but was 7.3% in Denmark in 2010-2014. Productivity in the Norwegian pelagic fisheries declined on average during 2002-2014 by 2.5% and by 5% in the Faroese fisheries over the same period. In Iceland, productivity in the pelagic fisheries declined on average by 10.4% during 2003-2014. Changes in productivity in the pelagic fisheries can mostly be attributed to changes in landings and changes in capital and labour, with changes in stock only having a small effect.
