A short-term economic assessment of incentivised selective gears

Abstract

An economic analysis of the impact of introducing more selective fishing gears and how their uptake is incentivised is carried out. The study focusses on some of the selective gears and the additional fishing opportunities used to encourage their uptake that are available as part of the Scottish Conservation Credit Scheme, which was set up to support the EU cod (Gadus morhua) recovery plan. We first demonstrate that the classification of the gears in the scheme is appropriate in relation to how they select for cod. We then evaluate the short-term direct and indirect financial impacts related with the different gear options. The analysis is carried out in relation to five different fleet segments of the Scottish whitefish fleet which are identified on the basis of the vessel size, engine power and gear fished and shows that with appropriate incentives, it is possible to introduce more selective gears without reducing profitability. The degree to which this can be achieved, however, will vary by fleet segment and will depend on the incentives on offer, the catch composition of the economically important species and the selective performance of the modified gear over this range of species. We also demonstrate that what incentivises one segment may not encourage another.