Status of activities and outcomes in the MEESO project's work package 6 from 1 September 2019 to 28 February 2021.
Summary
In work package 6, Managing and assessing social, economic, and biological impacts and risks, the partners have investigated the current cost structure of relevant fishing fleets in Spain, Denmark, and The Netherlands. Interviews with the fishing industry and quantitative analysis of STECF data have yielded insight into the current capacity for mesopelagic fishing in the relevant fleet segments, the current cost structure of these fleet segments, and the changes in that cost structure if these fleets would get involved in a mesopelagic fishery. The results of these analyses are included in the draft report on fisheries economics.
In addition to this endeavour, exploratory models have been developed to analyse the market impact of a mesopelagic fishery; the bioeconomic models DISPLACE and FLBEIA have been further developed to allow for analysis of mesopelagic management strategies; and data on scientific abstracts and Twitter feed have been collected to analyse the frames and values associated with the mesopelagic zone.
Highlights
- Mesopelagic fishery can potentially be commercially viable, but only if equally high catch rates can be obtained as in current pelagic fisheries and within the frames of biological sustainability of the potential mesopelagic resources. Whether this is the case remains to be seen from the biological research.
- The trip length of mesopelagic fisheries is limited by the quick deterioration of the catch.
- Longer trips require onboard preservation or processing, which is limited by the size of the ship.
- Setting the total allowable catch (TAC) or fish opportunities is crucial to determine the profitability of this fishery.