Profitability and management costs in the EU Northeast Atlantic fisheries

Abstract Fisheries management is about the steering and supervision of the exploitation of a common-property natural renewable resource. Costs inherent to fisheries management have been too often ignored, even if management expenditure represents a significant share of the landings value. This omission occurs in part because often taxpayers are the ones who bear the costs while the benefits of fisheries management are mostly reaped by the fishing industry. This has crucial implications when estimating the net economic benefits for the society, which differ from the private profits of the sector. In this study, we estimate the economic performance of the EU fishing fleet in the Northeast Atlantic in relation to management objectives and taking into account the cost of management. Results not only highlight the importance to account for management costs in order to differentiate between private profits and benefits for the society but also raise awareness on the management expenditure and who pays for it.