Report of the Expert Meeting on Methodologies for Conducting Fishing Fleet Techno-Economic Performance Reviews

This expert meeting looked into the advantages and disadvantages of various methodologies for reviewing the economic and technical performance of fishing fleets, and discussed a general sampling/survey methodology for conducting techno-economic performance reviews. Technological innovations over the last decade that had an impact on the economic and financial performance of fishing fleets were also discussed. The meeting recognized that technological advances have tremendously increased fishing efficiency since the last FAO global review of fishing fleets in 2003, with technologies such as GPS and Fishfinders now widely applied by industrial, small-scale and recreational fisheries. It was noted that the number of countries that collect socio-economic information on fisheries and analyse the performance of their fishing fleets has increased rapidly over the last decade, particularly in the European Union and the United States of America. It was also acknowledged that improvements in vessel fuel efficiency, vessel design, communication, on-board fish processing and bycatch reduction devices have major positive effects on the profitability of fishing fleets.