Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) - The 2023 annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet (STECF 23-07)

Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. This report shows that in 2021, the EU fishing fleet numbered 71 628 vessels with a combined gross tonnage of 1.31 million and engine power of 5.2 million kW. Based on data submitted by Member States under the EU MAP, there were 54 213 active vessels in 2021 offering direct employment to 121 917 fishers, corresponding to 81 747 FTEs; on average earning EUR 26 042 in wages, annually. The EU fleet spent 5.5 million days-at-sea and consumed 1.81 billion litres of fuel to land 3.56 million tonnes of seafood with a reported value of EUR 6 billion. The Gross Value Added (GVA) and gross profit (all excl. subsidies and fishing rights) were estimated at EUR 3.3 billion and EUR 1.19 billion, respectively. GVA as a proportion of revenue was estimated at 53.8% and gross profit margin at almost 19.2%. With a total net profit of almost EUR 0.51 billion in 2021, 8.2% of the revenue was retained as profit. These results should be read in a context of an increase of fuel cost in 2021 compared to 2020. Overall indicators display an improvement compared to 2020 (although not reaching the values observed for 2019) while nowcast estimates suggest that the performance of the EU fishing fleet will be severely deteriorated in 2022, specially driven by the increase in fuel prices, although this deterioration will not be as severe as that one predicted in the AER 2022. This is because the fuel cost in the second half of 2022 showed a reducing trend compared to the first half of 2022. In 2023, it is expected an improvement of this situation, driven by the lower fuel cost than those in 2022. This publication includes: 1) a structural and economic overview of the EU fishing fleet in 2021 and trend analyses for the years 2013-2021 where possible (nowcasts for 2022 and 2023); a regional analysis of the EU fishing fleet by major sea basin, as well as, fleets operating in the EU Outermost Regions and in Other Fishing Regions; 3) a detailed structural and economic overview of each Member State fishing fleet, including qualitative economic performance assessments for 2021 and nowcasts for 2022 and 2023.