Fleet Segments Research Articles

Adaptive small-scale fisheries in the eastern Cantabrian coast through reliance on essential species

Abstract In recent decades, small-scale fisheries (SSF) activity along the Basque coast (eastern Cantabrian) has declined, which has led remaining vessels to undergo notable shifts in their targeted species and therefore the fishing gears used, aimed at enhancing efficiency. Within that context, this study combines logbooks and sales notes spanning from 1995 to 2022 to assess inter-annual and seasonal variations in fishing activity and the main target species across different fishing gears, namely ‘fleet segments’. Results reveal that the spring Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and summer albacore (Thunnus alalunga) seasons, with an intensified harvesting under favourable conditions during the past decade, affected the activity of all other segments throughout the year. In the face of climate change affecting harvested species, a scenario where mackerel and/or albacore seasons are disturbed would lead the SSF to predominantly depend on European hake, mainly caught by declining longlines and set nets, as well as on complementary species. Assessing essential species targeted by each SSF segment relies on is crucial for stakeholders as it helps manage interactions between fleets targeting the same species (e.g. SSF vs. industrial and recreational fisheries), and understand gear shifts by vessels targeting specific species in certain seasons.

Alternative Approach to the Segmentation of Fishing Fleets

The appropriate segmentation of fishing fleets is controversially discussed in fisheries research and management and a variety of approaches has been introduced. The present approach, developed in a pilot study funded by the European Commission – Data Collection Framework (DCF), introduces a standardized multivariate approach for characterizing fisheries fleet segments by hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HAC) of their catch composition. We chose data from 2021 of the Romanian fishing fleet as the basis of our analysis. Statistical analyses were performed using the program RStudio V3.6.1 by running the fleet segmentation package script. The specific indices, tests, and visual validation methods of the package were applied to determine the optimal number of clusters. The procedure was finalized by a post-hoc validation of the clustering result to identify the actual fleet segments. From the basic data, 6 fleet segments for Vessels using active and passive gears (PMP) were highlighted, representing 52 boats, where it was noted that fishing at Rapa whelk (RPW) prevailed with 91.94% of the total catches on the segment, respective 5 fleet segments for Vessels using passive gears (PG) only for vessels 12m, representing 78 vessels where the main catches or recorded at European anchovy (ANE) 25.16%, turbot (TUR) 13.08%, horse mackerel (HMM) 8.75%, thus 130 vessels from two classes of different gears in total. We detected mied fishing, especially on various assemblages of demersal and pelagic fish, as well as target fishing on demersal and pelagic fish, Rapa whelk, and mussels. For a better understanding of the approach, further research is needed.

Long-run management of Greenland's fishery on Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides)

AbstractIn this paper, we consider four scenarios for economic optimal management of a fisheries resource by a high sea and coastal fleet segment. These scenarios differ with respect to whether a common or two separate fish stocks are considered and whether the profit from land-based processing is included. The model is parametrized using the Greenland halibut fishery on the west coast of Greenland as an empirical case. For this fishery, we show that the relative ranking of the optimal high sea industry harvest and profit compared to the coastal industry harvest and profit depends on the chosen scenario. When comparing the scenarios for optimal management and the actual situation, we find that the fish stock tends to be overexploited.

Catch as catch can: markets, availability, and fishery closures drive distinct responses among the U.S. West Coast coastal pelagic species fleet segments

Fishers often target multiple species. More diverse harvest portfolios may reduce income risk, increasing resilience to climate-driven changes in target species’ spatial distributions and availability. Moreover, different effects can be observed across vessels in response to the same shocks and stressors, as fishers are heterogeneous. Evaluation of climate risk across different vessel groups within a particular fishery requires consideration of heterogeneous climate impacts on the availability of multiple target species and how such changes may impact substitution behavior. Here we analyze how historical climate-driven changes in forage species distribution and the closure of the Pacific sardine fishery affected landings per vessel of three coastal pelagic species (CPS): Pacific sardine ( Sardinops sagax), market squid ( Doryteuthis opalescens), and northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax) targeted by the U.S. West Coast CPS fleet from 2000 to 2020. Using cluster analysis, we grouped vessels into different fleet segments and estimated heterogeneous responses by fleet segment and port area. Our results show that considering heterogeneity is essential in the development of equitable and effective adaptation policies designed to mitigate the impact of changes on species availability in these fisheries.

Revisiting fuel tax concessions (FTCs): The economic implications of fuel subsidies for the commercial fishing fleet of the United Kingdom

Fuel forms a significant portion of the total expenditure for many commercial fishing vessels and in some cases, profitability can be dictated by fuel costs. In many nations, including the UK, these fuel costs are reduced by cost-reducing subsidies. There is evidence of growing support from various channels that public opinion is moving towards a reassessment of fuel subsidies. Analysis of the economics of the UK fishing fleet, using publicly available industry-supplied data, implies that the nominal annual value of fuel tax concessions for diesel is between £ 150–180 million per year (2009–2019). That support is largely provided to the most fuel-intensive fishing methods, such as mobile demersal trawls and dredges. Results show that, without the current fuel tax concession, several fleet segments would be deemed unprofitable. This paper outlines the current value of fuel tax concessions for fishing vessels and potential policy considerations for reform.

Changing behavior: Can intervention design from the public health sector help solve the problem of fishing gear conflict?

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear is associated with significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. Gear loss can be attributed to environmental and operational factors. Gear conflict, which can result in the loss of gear due to interactions within or between fleet métiers, is a significant contributor to gear loss in some fisheries. Traditionally interventions aiming to reduce the occurrence of gear conflict have been designed without a systematic approach and with minimal analysis of the fisher behaviors which lead to gear conflict. This study uses the Behavioral Change Wheel (BCW), a well-established intervention design framework originating from the UK health sector, and applies it for the first time in a fisheries management context in an attempt to understand the specific intervention functions and policy categories which could be used to reduce or avoid the occurrence of gear loss through gear conflict. Through a series of open-ended interviews with static and mobile fishers, ten behaviors were identified which were associated with either the prevention or mitigation of gear conflict (communication between sectors/individuals, marking fishing gear, moving gear when/if requested, adjusting fishing patterns to account for known gear positions, adherence to spatial separation agreements, regular gear maintenance, regular hauling of static gear, reporting snagged static fishing gear, bringing snagged fishing gear back into harbor, and attempting to locate lost fishing gear). While some of these behaviors (such as sharing details of fishing activities and locations) were found in both static and mobile fleet métiers, other behaviors were unique to specific fleet segments (e.g. gear marking behavior from static gear fishers). Analysis of the behavioral subcomponents of each behavior through the BCW framework reveal that intervention functions targeting fisher social and physical opportunities and automatic and reflexive motivations would be most effective when attempting to reduce the occurrence of gear loss between static and mobile métiers. Potential policy categories that would support this work include the introduction of guidelines, fiscal measures, regulation, legislation, environmental/social planning, and service provision- for example, the creation of behavioral contracts by fishers, enforced spatial management guidelines, and the creation of support structures for part-time fishers.

Exploring fishing threat at fleet segment and subregional scale: Least expert knowledge and a resilience versus disturbance-based approach as conservation's tools for cartilaginous fish.

Based on an explorative but rigorous elicitation framework, we obtained the bycatch fishing probability at the fishing fleet segment level using expert estimates. Based on the knowledge of three scientific experts, we developed a new and creative structured method for smart and fast fishery-related risk assessments for species of high conservation concern. In order to test the method here propose, we applied it to 76 cartilaginous fish species (included in the IUCN Red Lists) and on five different fishing segments at both Italian and Mediterranean scale. The method produced qualitative results specific to the threat posed by fishing for each species and each segment with information between and within the segments. Based on the interpretation of resilience-disturbance interactions developed for ecological systems, the quantitative results provided reliable cumulative metrics, measuring the extinction risk due to fishing and the response to overfishing for the species considered. Additionally, the results highlight that the method perform best on a small geographic scale. Therefore, the application of this new method on other subregional or local scales where very few data are available (e.g., fishing effort) could be a valuable tool for the preliminary assessment for species of conservation concern. In fact, despite the absence of detailed catch data at local geographic scales, the flexibility of this method could help to highlight potential fishery-related conservation problems and thus redirect conservation strategies for threatened marine species such as many sharks and rays species.

Is the Small-Scale Fishery more sustainable in terms of GHG emissions? A case study analysis from the Central Mediterranean Sea

Small-Scale Fishery (SSF) is recognized as one of the more sustainable among the activities currently exploiting marine renewable resources. This is mainly due to the use of fishing gears characterised by a low environmental impact and a high selectivity. However, there is still room for improvement when analysing the sustainability of SSF sector. Within this context, Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions – CO2 in particular – are one of the most relevant aspect to be considered. In particular, fuel consumption and its reduction represent the main issue when discussing sustainability, especially to cope with climate changes. In this paper, the first inventory of CO2 emissions from the SSF vessels in the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea (GSA17) has been compiled, based on data collected from SSF operators, validated by means of a geospatial-based method. Emission intensity estimates – 7.01 kg of CO2 emitted per kg of landing or 2.08 kg of CO2 emitted per € of landing – confirmed the lower values by SSF vessels in comparison with other fleet segments. Results are discussed in the light of the mitigation of GHG emissions for the SSF, considering the technological features of Adriatic SSF, fishers’ behaviour and an improved management of the fishery.

The Right Time for General Road Tax: Evidence from the Czech Republic

Road transport is a source of emissions of which nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM2.5), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are most damaging. The economic inefficiency caused by not including the emission externalities of vehicle operation in prices can be improved by using a vehicle use tax. In the Czech Republic, however, a large part of the vehicle fleet is exempt from this tax, which is thus not general. This part of the fleet thus escapes taxation, for which there is no economic justification. To identify the actual ratio of emissions indicators of operating fleet segments in relation to vehicle use tax we use unique dataset composed of national emissions inventories data of the Copert program, road vehicle register data and vehicle testing stations data. It is also possible to quantify emissions production and determine the external costs of NOX, PM2.5, and CO2 generated by road transport segments in the Czech Republic. It was found that half of the production of the emissions in road transport in the Czech Republic representing almost 60% of the environmental costs were not covered by the existing tax due to the exclusion of part of the vehicle fleet from this taxation, especially private passenger vehicles.

Interactive effects of fishing effort reduction and climate change in a central Mediterranean fishing area: Insights from bio-economic indices derived from a dynamic food-web model

Disentangling the effects of mixed fisheries and climate change across entire food-webs requires a description of ecosystems using tools that can quantify interactive effects as well as bio-economic aspects. A calibrated dynamic model for the Sicily Channel food web, made up of 72 functional groups and including 13 fleet segments, was developed. A temporal simulation until 2050 was conducted to evaluate the bio-economic interactive effects of the reduction of bottom trawling fishing effort by exploring different scenarios that combine fishery and climate change. Our results indicate that direct and indirect effects produce a net increase in biomass of many functional groups with immediate decline of trawlers’ catches and economic incomes, followed by a long term increase mainly due to biomass rebuilding of commercial species which lasts 5-10 years after fishing reduction. Synergistic and antagonistic effects caused by changes in the fishing effort and in climate characterize a specific functional group’s response in biomass which, in turn, modulate also the catch and income of the other fleets, and especially of those sharing target resources. However, trawler’s intra-fleet competition is higher than the others fleet effects. In the medium term, the effects of fishing effort reduction are higher than those of climate change and seem to make exploitation of marine resources more sustainable over time and fishery processes more efficient by improving ecosystem health.

COVID-19 and the Spanish Celtic Sea fishery: An economic analysis

The Celtic Sea fishing fleet is the largest offshore fleet segment in Spain. Over the last three decades, this fleet has experienced a decrease in its number of vessels. This negative trend was intensified by another disruptive factor: The COVID-19 pandemic. Spain, one of the European countries most affected by this pandemic, implemented restrictive strategies in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that also affected fishing activities. The aim of this article is to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the profitability, revenues and employment of Spanish shipowning companies whose vessels operate in the Celtic Sea. Through a population sample of 64 companies, the performance of variables such as turnover, total assets, number of employees, return on assets, return on equity or profit margin before interest and taxes has been assessed. The results show a variation of − 25% in turnover, − 10% in the number of employees and − 80% in economic and financial profitability. This is a case of failure of collective action, in which the lack of a contingency plan at the public and private level accentuated the negative consequences of the pandemic, especially in the first state of alarm. In addition, a strong interdependence was detected between the catches of the most valuable species and the activity of the HORECA channel.

Reducing the Fuel Use Intensity of Fisheries: Through Efficient Fishing Techniques and Recovered Fish Stocks

Understanding the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in food production systems is becoming urgent. For wild capture fisheries, fuel use during the fishing phase generally dominates emissions and is highly variable between fisheries. Fuel use is also essential for the economy of the fisheries, but fuel-intensive fisheries can still be profitable due to fuel subsidies, in particular, if the target species is of high value. Developing an innovative bottom-up approach based on detailed catch and spatial fishing effort data, in the absence of direct fuel data, we analysed the fuel use intensity (fuel use per kg landed) and economic efficiency (landing value per litre fuel used) of Danish capture fisheries for the period 2005-2019. An overall decline in fishing effort did not significantly affect the overall fuel use intensity and efficiency, which was stable for most of the fleet segments and marine species. Robust differences in fuel use intensity among individual fisheries, reflected differential spatial accessibility and vulnerability of target species to fishing. In addition, different fishing techniques targeting the same set of species showed differences in fuel use per unit landed. Danish seining and gillnets had a lower fuel use intensity and higher economic efficiency than demersal trawling; and purse seining than pelagic trawling. The variability between stocks and fleets also indicates that there is generally potential for improvement in overall efficiency from improved stock status. Short-term management actions to promote the best available fuel-efficient fishing techniques combined with additional long-term actions to secure the recovery of stocks have the potential to reduce fishery greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable fisheries and normative environmental management are crucial to developing incentives towards reducing fuel use whenever the fishing sector industry and science work jointly at implementing solutions, as incentives for the industry to reduce fuel use are limited as long as the fishing activity is profitable.

Concerns about illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, carbon footprint, and the impact of fuel subsidy - An economic analysis of the Black Sea anchovy fishery

Among the unresolved problems of fisheries, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, high carbon footprint, overfishing, and overcapitalization of the fleet are at the forefront. Supporting fishers through fuel subsidy is commonly practiced but eventually led to overcapitalization of the sector. Moreover, the reported catch weights were insufficient to meet fleet operational costs and investments, and therefore there must be some degree of IUU fishing in Black Sea. Therefore, the study examined the economic performance of the purse seiners engaged in anchovy fishery in the Black Sea coast of Turkey and Georgia. The results revealed that economic performance and revenue in the Black Sea anchovy fishery segments evaluated were sufficient to cover expenses and be profitable, even in years when the catch was insufficient. Economic analysis also showed that fuel constitutes a significant part of operational cost in all fleet segments and, in return, 0.17–0.59 tons of CO2 was produced to catch one ton of fish. Under these circumstances, the segment displaying the best fuel utilization efficiency would not survive if the remedy suggested by the UN's sustainable development goal-14, which advocates eliminating fuel subsidy to curb IUU and overfishing, were enforced. In light of the study findings, a series of remedies are suggested to discourage a trend towards IUU fishing, control the fleet's carbon footprint, and ensure sustainability. Among the proposed remedies, the removal of least effective medium-sized boats from the fleet, enforcing more efficient harvest control measures, and limiting the catch used for anchovy reduction fishery were emphasized.

Reconciling the economic and biological fishery data gathered through the European Data Collection Framework: A new R-tool.

Fishing fleets and targeted stocks are the basis for the design of multiannual management plans at European or Mediterranean levels. Management Strategy Evaluation and bioeconomic modeling need data at a specific level of resolution in terms of time, area and type of fishing activity for analyzing measures for management procedures using simulations. Within the Data Collection Framework, data are to be aggregated at different levels, e.g.: fleet segment and métier, the former linked to the predominant gear and the size of the vessel and the latter to the activity itself. Fishing costs are collected by fleet segment, effort and landings by fleet segment and métier. Bioeconomic modeling for management purposes requires data at the same resolution. The aim of this paper is to describe a methodology, implemented in SECFISH R package, to disaggregate variable cost data from the fleet segment to the métier level. The presented tool allows to determine the correlation between the variable costs of a vessel and its activities to estimate costs at the activity level (e.g. métiers). The tool is applied to selected Italian fleet segments characterized by a variety of métiers and high dynamicity.

Results-based management in practice: Lessons learnt and policy recommendations from the implementation of RBM in European fisheries outside Europe

This paper summarizes the lessons learnt from the implementation of a practical approach to Results-based Management (RBM) within the EU H2020 FarFish project, where RBM is conceptualized as a contract situation. From these lessons a set of policy recommendations for the improvement of the fisheries management through the adoption of RBM for EU vessels fishing in international- and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) waters were put forward. The policy recommendations are based on key project outputs and additional semi-structured interviews on the experiences of project partners. This exercise revealed advancements and shortcomings for the broader implementation of a more participatory, inclusive, and responsive approach to fisheries governance. Meaningful and effective participation was a pivotal factor for the success of the process. Absence of relevant bodies, sectors and fleet segments proved detrimental throughout all cases. The importance of scoping, goal setting and timing of the actions, as well as managing realistic expectations within the RBM, were highlighted. Data availability and accountability was pivotal, as in cases were cooperation succeeded, data was made available, and knowledge was expanded and enriched. The implementation of this approach to RBM showed great potential when extended to other aspects of fisheries’ management, fishing categories and fleets. This structured approach to RBM provides a promising alternative to current fisheries management systems across the world.

Managing Marine Mammals and Fisheries: A Calibrated Programming Model for the Seal-Fishery Interaction in Sweden

This paper develops a model based on the concept of Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) that is useful for ex-ante analyses of how policy measures affect commercial fisheries. PMP models are frequently used in agriculture, but rarely for analyzing fisheries. Fisheries often face a large set of constraints such as effort regulations and catch quotas of which some might be binding and others not. An econometric approach is developed for calibrating models with both binding and non-binding constraints. The interaction between seals and Swedish fisheries is used as an empirical application. Seal interaction is modeled as seals predating fish from passive gear (nets and hooks), which is primarily an issue for the coastal fishery. The model contains 24 fleet segments involved in 247 different fishing activities in 2012. The results show that if no further management action is taken, fisheries using passive gear will reduce their activities from about 46 000 days at sea per year to about 41 000 and reducing their economic performance from losses of about 2 million Euros to about 3.3 million. The impact from seals can be reduced by reducing the seal population or providing economic compensation.

Techno-economic efficiencies of the purse-seiners in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey)

Overcapacity and low economic returns have been long ending problems for the Turkish marine fisheries while various conflicting and inadequate fisheries regulations under inconsistent political decisions were developed over many decades. Purse-seine fishery, as one of the biggest marine fishery sub-sectors, has a pioneering socio-ecological influence within the marine fisheries sector of Turkey. In this study, we examined the technical efficiencies of the Turkish purse-seine vessels along the Aegean coasts of Turkey. To implement this analysis, we first collected a data set of technical and economic dimensions of active Turkish purse-seine vessels in the Aegean Sea. Then, we used two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approaches, including input-oriented bootstrapped DEA under constant and various returns-to-scale technologies. In the first stage, we calculated bootstrapped efficiencies across vessels by using technical factors of fisheries production and harvest value as input/output factors. At the second stage, we performed an in-depth analysis of the endogenous determinants of the efficiency scores by using the statistical models under various statistical specifications. We found that most of the purse seine vessels in fleet segment 1 (<24 m) got low-efficiency scores (<0.30) while efficiency scores of fleet segment 2 (≥24 m) emerged to have scores that were homogeneously distributed between 0 and 1. Landing amounts and landing values of fleet segment 1 appeared to have superior efficient frontier levels compared with fleet segment 2 although fleet segment 2 had substantially positive relationships with the predicted efficiency scores. Higher engine power, as well as higher numbers of crew onboard, did not statistically explain neither desired efficiency scores nor expected landings and market values. Overall, various excess production inputs, including gross tonnage, engine power, total generator power, lamp boat generator power, were predicted to be in excess use. To conclude, fisheries managers should account for the operational performance of the fishing vessels to better design optimal fisheries policies in the future.

Trade-offs between employment and profitability in a Mediterranean Sea mixed bottom trawl fishery

The exploitation of mixed fisheries leads to trade-offs between fisheries rent, production (landings) and resource conservation because harvest rent cannot be optimized simultaneously for all species. Additionally, the exploitation of mixed fisheries by heterogeneous fleets complicates their management because of the necessity to allocate catch or effort quotas, under some criterion of efficiency or equitability. The allocation of fishing opportunities impacts directly on the availability of jobs in fisheries. To analyse the trade-offs between employment and profits in mixed fisheries, an optimization bioeconomic model was built for the three bottom-trawl fleet segments operating in the Catalonia demersal fishery (NW Mediterranean Sea). The fishery is subject to a multiannual management plan to align fishing effort with the fisheries mortality that would produce the maximum sustainable yield. The optimal effort allocation among the three fleet segments were compared subject to alternative fisheries management policies: (i) maximum sustainable yield, (ii) maximum economic yield, (iii) maximum labour remuneration, (iv) pretty good yield, and (v) equilibrium biomass larger than biomass at maximum sustainable yield, taking into account the multispecies nature of the fishery. The results show that all management policies provide higher profits than current. In the first three scenarios, high profitability can be made compatible with a lower number of better paid jobs, because the optimal allocation of effort in most scenarios would imply a reduction in the number of vessels. The results also show that the current number of vessels and effort distribution (which are the result of a historical process, rather than the results of a management strategy) are far from any optimum.

Bioeconomic impacts of two simple modifications to trawl nets in the NW Mediterranean

A bioeconomic model was built to assess the contribution of more selective trawl nets to the objectives of the European Multi-Annual Plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean (WM MAP). The biological submodel was parameterized with age-structured population parameters for the five target stocks in the WM MAP (European hake, red mullet, deep-water rose shrimp, Nephrops and red shrimp) with a sixth stock combining the remaining commercial by catch and following a biomass dynamics model. The trawl fleet was composed of three fleet segments, according to Vessel Length class (VL1218, VL1824, VL2440), practicing two métiers: coastal mixed demersal fishery and deep-water crustacean fishery. The technological solutions analyzed are two simple technical modifications to the otter bottom trawl and based on i) using a panel of meshes turned 90° (T90) in the extension of the trawl net, and ii) inserting a selective grid built from 40 mm square mesh (SM40) netting into the extension of the trawl net. The Results show that, in terms of policy objectives, the reduction in the values of fishing mortality achieved with these selectivity modifications would be insufficient to reach the target fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield (Fmsy) prescribed in the WM MAP by 2025. However, model results project a substantial recovery of hake and red mullet stock biomass. The recovery of these two important stocks would help improve the evolution of the economic indicators, resulting generally in higher income, profits and salaries in the short (2025) and mid term (2030).

The use of the contribution margin on the valorisation of polish fisheries for maritime spatial planning

One of the primary goals of spatial planning is to provide decision makers with documents that will allow them to optimize the use of marine space. The function of such an optimization strategy is to maximize the usability of the sea surface. This article focuses on the pragmatic aspects of marine spatial planning. The authors presuppose a tool for planners that (i) is based on readily available information, is comparable for various countries (ii) and for which the economic interpretation is straightforward and allows for the comparison of fisheries with other sectors. The analysis is based on two pan-European surveys collected under the Common Fisheries Policy. The distribution and catch information is sourced from the Vessel Monitoring System and logbooks, and the economic data come from the national data submissions for the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries. A contribution margin consisting of the difference between the revenue and variable costs at a spatial unit with a 0.05-degree resolution was chosen as the most appropriate indicator for these purposes. A variable costing method can be used to determine the efficiency of maritime sectors in specific spatial units without artificially assigning costs that are unrelated to a given sea area. The analysis covers the period of 2013–2017. Three key areas for Polish fisheries have been identified: the Gulf of Gdansk, the Bornholm Basin, and the Słupsk Furrow; the average contribution margins in these regions were 1133, 651 and 580 EUR/km2, respectively. The variance analysis revealed that the high indicator values were mostly influenced by high catches of sprat and herring fished with pelagic trawls as well as high sprat prices. Fishing with passive gear (gillnets, hooks) and in the 3rd and 4th quarters proved to result in deficits in a large Polish maritime area. The indicators may have been influenced by the lack of data on the individual steaming times, as well as by variations among fuel consumptions and salary costs within fleet segments. Despite these limitations, the method used in this study allows a first attempt at the estimation of the contribution margin and its spatial variation over time in the context of Maritime Spatial Planning needs. The calculation undertaken in this paper yields the monetary interpretation of private spatial rents and future comparisons among various maritime sectors and various countries.