The Impact of Subsidies on the Ecological Sustainability and Future Profits from North Sea Fisheries

Abstract

BackgroundThis study examines the impact of subsidies on the profitability and ecological stability of the North Sea fisheries over the past 20 years. It shows the negative impact that subsidies can have on both the biomass of important fish species and the possible profit from fisheries. The study includes subsidies in an ecosystem model of the North Sea and examines the possible effects of eliminating fishery subsidies.Methodology/Principal FindingsHindcast analysis between 1991 and 2003 indicates that subsidies reduced the profitability of the fishery even though gross revenue might have been high for specific fisheries sectors. Simulations seeking to maximise the total revenue between 2004 and 2010 suggest that this can be achieved by increasing the effort of Nephrops trawlers, beam trawlers, and the pelagic trawl-and-seine fleet, while reducing the effort of demersal trawlers. Simulations show that ecological stability can be realised by reducing the effort of the beam trawlers, Nephrops trawlers, pelagic- and demersal trawl-and-seine fleets. This analysis also shows that when subsidies are included, effort will always be higher for all fleets, because it effectively reduces the cost of fishing.Conclusions/SignificanceThe study found that while removing subsidies might reduce the total catch and revenue, it increases the overall profitability of the fishery and the total biomass of commercially important species. For example, cod, haddock, herring and plaice biomass increased over the simulation when optimising for profit, and when optimising for ecological stability, the biomass for cod, plaice and sole also increased. When subsidies are eliminated, the study shows that rather than forcing those involved in the fishery into the red, fisheries become more profitable, despite a decrease in total revenue due to a loss of subsidies from the government.

Past and future challenges in managing European seas

“…Another example from the North Sea (Heymans et al 2011) indicates the possible trade-offs between a future focused on maximizing the profitability of fisheries vs. a future pursuing a vision of a more "resilient" ecosystem with more long-lived species. The study found that a totally different fleet structure would be needed to achieve these scenarios and that there would be major effects on the overall redundancy in the ecosystem.…”

Combined analyses reveal environmentally driven changes in the North Sea ecosystem and raise questions regarding what makes an ecosystem model’s performance credible?

“…The structure of the model and data sources used to parameterize the food web in 1991 are described in detail in Mackinson and Daskalov (2007) and summarized in Heymans et al (2011). Substantive updates used in defining a Key Run 1 were published in detail in ICES (2011).…”

Integrated ecological–economic fisheries models—Evaluation, review and challenges for implementation

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