Capacity, F and Effort: The relationship between fleet capacity, fishing effort and fishing mortality (CAFÉ)

Background

The EU’s common fisheries policy (CFP) aims to match European fleet capacity to resource availability. Hitherto, it has been assumed that reducing fleet catching capacity and limiting fishing effort will reduce fishing mortality, but the scientific basis for this assumption is not fully established, particularly for pelagic fisheries. For the future of healthy fish stocks, the interaction between these factors needs urgent study.

Objectives

CAFÉ aims to carry out a comprehensive study of capacity and effort metrics and model their relationships to fishing mortality, and the economic drivers for capacity development. It will include a review of possible management measures and their effectiveness in matching fleet capacity to available resources. The project comprises six main objectives:

• Review the validity of measurements of fishing capacity and effort
• Compile a database of capacity, effort and mortality information
• Identify appropriate measurements for empirical modelling of these factors
• Identify the factors that drive change in the capacity of the case study fisheries over time
• Determine the economic and biological factors that influence investment, the distribution of fishing capacity and effort
• Examine the effect of applying the models to the management of selected fisheries

Policy development

• CAFÉ will provide an improved scientific basis through which policy-makers can match fishing capacity to the resources available
• The project will provide defined measures of capacity, effort and fishing mortality for application in analytical models for future management of fisheries
• New models will help policy-makers understand the biological and economic factors that influence industry investment and the distribution of fishing capacity and effort
• CAFÉ will provide illustrative examples of how the application of the new models could affect the management of selected fisheries

Cefas contribution

• Review of effort and capacity controls worldwide and review methods for capacity and effort measurement.
• To compile the existing data and information on catch, fishing effort, fleet costs and earnings, market prices, investment and capital value (fleet-focused) and fish stock status and availability (stock-focused).
• To determine appropriate metrics for defining capacity, effort and fishing mortality and use these to develop empirical models of the linkages between these three measures.
• To determine what factors influence how fishing capacity and effort are applied.
• Evaluation of effort and capacity management scenarios.

Partners

This project involves 14 partners from 7 different countries.