EU: Study EMFAF support to the European Fishing Fleet

News: European Fishing Fleet; EMFAF; European Parliament;

On behalf of the European Parliament (EP), COFAD has undertaken a study on the support offered by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) to the European fishing fleet. The study was presented in the PECH Committee of the EP.

The PECH Committee of the European Parliament discussed how the current EMFAF and its potential successors can help to positively shape the future of the EU fishing fleet. The analyses focused on three specific articles of the EMFAF Regulation: Article 17 on 'first acquisition of a fishing vessel', Article 18 on 'replacement or modernisation of a main or ancillary engine' and Article 19 on 'increase of gross tonnage to improve safety, working conditions or energy efficiency'. COFAD was commissioned to elaborate a synopsis on coastal Member States for this study.

The study concludes that the eligibility rules for the three articles of the EMFAF are restrictive, that Member States plan to make only limited use of these options, and that implementation commenced slowly. Future support in these fields should be less restrictive and possible negative effects should be avoided by other means.

The full study is available here.