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Data from September 2009, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
Graph 1: Fishing fleet, 2008

Fish are a natural, biological, mobile (sometimes over wide distances) and renewable resource. Aside from fish farming, fish can not be owned until they have been caught. For this reason, fish stocks continue to be regarded as a common resource, which therefore need to be managed collectively. This has led to policies that regulate the amount of fishing, as well as the types of fishing techniques and gear used in fish capture.

This article gives an overview of recent statistics on fishing fleets, fish catches, and also on aquaculture production.

Main statistical findings

Graph 2: Catches by fishing region, EU, 2007 (%, based on tonnes)
Table 1: Total catches in all fishing regions (1 000 tonnes live weight), 1997-2007
Table 2: Aquaculture production (1 000 tonnes live weight), 1997-2007

Among Member States, by far the largest fishing fleets (see Graph 1) in terms of engine power were those of Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom; in 2008, the fishing fleets of each of these countries had a collective power of between 0.8 million and 1.1 million kW. In terms of gross tonnage (GT), however, the fishing fleet in Spain was the largest, being about two and a half times the size of those in the United Kingdom, France or Italy.

Total catches by the fishing fleets of Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and France accounted for almost half of all the fish catches made by the EU-27 in 2008 (see Table 1 and Graph 2). This share has declined in recent years from about 60 % in 2000, mainly as a result of the sharp reduction in the share of the Danish catch, as well as (to a lesser degree) that of Spain. Since 1997, the total EU-27 catch has fallen every year with the exception of 2001; the total catch by the EU-27 in 2007 was almost one third (31.6 %) less than in 1997. Almost three quarters of the catches made by the EU-27 in 2007 were in the north-east Atlantic, with the Mediterranean the second largest fishing area.

The level of aquaculture production in the EU-27 remained relatively stable between 1.2 million tonnes and 1.4 million tonnes during the period 1996 to 2006 (see Table 2). By far the largest five aquaculture Member States were Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Greece, which together accounted for a little over three quarters (77.2 %) of total aquaculture production in the EU-27 in 2006. There were strong contrasts among the Member States in the development of aquaculture production in the ten years through to 2007; production in the Netherlands almost halved from about 100 000 tonnes and that in Germany declined by about one third from 65 000 tonnes, whereas production rose by one third in the United Kingdom (albeit growth being limited through until 2004) and more than doubled in Greece.

Data sources and availability

Fishery statistics are derived from official national sources either directly by Eurostat for the members of the European Economic Area (EEA) or indirectly through other international organisations for other countries. The data are collected using internationally agreed concepts and definitions developed by the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics, comprising Eurostat and several other international organizations with responsibilities for fishery statistics. The flag of the fishing vessel is used as the primary indication of the nationality of the catch, though this concept may vary in certain circumstances.

In general, the data refer to the fishing fleet size on 31 December of the reference year. The data are derived from the national registers of fishing vessels which are maintained pursuant to Council Regulation 26/2004 which contains information on the vessel characteristics to be recorded on the registers - the administrative file of fishing vessels maintained by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. There has been a transition in measuring the tonnage of the fishing fleet from Gross registered tonnage (GRT) to that of Gross tonnage (GT). This change, which has taken place at different rates within the various national administrations, gives rise to the possibility of non-comparability of data over time and of non-comparability between countries.

Catches of fishery products (fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other aquatic animals, residues and aquatic plants) include items taken for all purposes (commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence) by all types and classes of fishing units (fishermen, vessels, gear, etc.) operating both in inland, fresh and brackish water areas, and in inshore, offshore and high-seas fishing areas. The catch is normally expressed in live weight and derived by the application of conversion factors to the landed or product weight. As such, catch statistics exclude quantities which are caught and taken from the water (that is, before processing) but which, for a variety of reasons, are not landed. The production from aquaculture (see below for definition) is excluded.

Geographical fishing areas are defined for a number of specific areas of water, including:

  • the north-east Atlantic, which is roughly the area to the east of 42°W longitude and north of 36°N latitude, including the waters of the Baltic Sea;
  • the north-west Atlantic, which is the region that is roughly the area to the west of 42°W longitude and north of 35°N latitude;
  • the eastern central Atlantic, which is the region to the east of 40°W longitude between latitudes 36°N and 6°S;
  • the Mediterranean, which is also known as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Major Fishing Area 37, comprises the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Black Sea.

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding and protection from predators. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of, or rights resulting from contractual arrangements to, the stock being cultivated.

Context

The first common European policy measures in the fishing sector date from 1970. They set rules for access to fishing grounds, markets and structures. All these measures became more significant when, in 1976, the Member States followed an international movement and agreed to extend their rights to marine resources from 12 to 200 miles from their coasts.

After years of difficult negotiations, the Common fisheries policy (CFP) - the European Union (EU)’s instrument for the management of fisheries and aquaculture, was born in 1983. The CFP sets maximum quantities of fish that can be safely caught every year: the total allowable catch (TAC). Each country’s share is called a national quota. The common fisheries policy (CFP) was reformed in 2002 to deal with the environmental, economic and social dimensions of fishing. Common measures are agreed in four main areas:

  • the conservation of stocks/environmental impact – to protect fish resources by regulating the amount of fish taken from the sea, by allowing young fish to reproduce, and by ensuring that such measures are respected;
  • structures and fleet management (such as vessels, port facilities and fish processing plants) – to help the fishing and aquaculture sectors adapt their equipment and organizations to the constraints imposed by scarce resources and the market;
  • the organisation of the market for fish in the EU – to maintain a common organization of the market in fish products and to match supply and demand for the benefit of both producers and consumers;
  • and external fisheries policy – to set-up fisheries agreements and to negotiate at an international level within regional and international fisheries organizations for common conservation measures in deep-sea fisheries.

The 2002 reform of the CFP identified the need to limit fishing efforts, the level of catches, and to enforce certain technical measures. To ensure sustainable fishing, it is not only the quantity of fish taken from the sea that is important, but also their species, size, and the techniques used in catching them, as well as the areas where they are caught.

The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) has a budget of around EUR 3 800 million and covers the period 2007 to 2013. It aims to support the objectives of the CFP by:

  • supporting sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and a stable balance between these resources and the capacity of the EU fishing fleet;
  • strengthening the competitiveness and the viability of operators in the fishing sector;
  • promoting environmentally-friendly fishing and production methods;
  • providing adequate support to people employed in the sector;
  • fostering the sustainable development of fisheries areas.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Database

Dedicated section

Other information

Catch statistics:

  • Regulation 218/2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic
  • Regulation 217/2009 on the submission of catch and activity statistics by Member States fishing in the North-West Atlantic
  • Regulation 216/2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic

Aquaculture:

  • Regulations 788/96 and 762/2008 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production

Landings:

Fishing fleet:

External links

See also

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