The profitability of marine commercial fisheries: a review of economic information needs with particular reference to the UK

Evaluating the performance of fisheries and the effectiveness of fisheries management measures requires economic as well as biological information. A recent House of Commons Agriculture Committee report has drawn attention to the scarcity of economic information on UK sea fisheries, and recommends t he commissioning of regular research into the profitability of the fishing industry. While supporting this recommendation, the present article contend s that the information requirements are more extensive than those suggested by the Committee; specifically, the need is for information that enables p olicy makers to assess both the actual profitability of fisheries in their existing state and also their potential profitability under alternative fis heries management regimes. In practice this calls for the commissioning not just of regular costs and earnings studies, important though these may be for painting an up-to-date picture of the current economic performance of f isheries, but a modelling framework that can answer "what-if?" questions ab out the way economic performance might be altered or improved under differe nt policy scenarios. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.