Economic impact of eliminating the fuel tax exemption in the EU fishing fleet

• Published in: Sustainability
• Main Authors: DENTES DE CARVALHO GASPAR Natacha, GUILLEN GARCIA Jordi
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2021
• Subjects: North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC123645; https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2719; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052719

The EU-27 fishing fleet consumed 2.02 billion litres of fuel to catch 4.48 million tonnes of fish, valued €6.7 billion in 2018. The profitability of the EU fishing fleet has an increasing trend, partly due to the improvements in the energy efficiency and recovery of fish stocks in the North-east Atlantic. Fuel is one of the main expenses fishing fleets have, and therefore, their economic performance remains highly dependent on the fuel price, even if they benefit from a fuel tax exemption. The adoption of the European Green Deal, the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD), the ongoing World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiation to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies, and general public opinion are putting pressure to eliminate the current fuel tax exemption. Thus, this analysis investigates the impacts of the potential elimination of the fuel tax exemption across the different EU fishing fleets and it is discussed into what extent the small-scale fleet (SSF), the large-scale fleets (LSF) and the distant-water fleets (DWF) could be affected. This analysis is useful to inform policy-makers and stakeholders on the consequences of the potential elimination of the fuel tax exemption, as well as to discuss potential measures to mitigate the socio-economic impacts arising from this eventual change in the current regulatory framework. JRC.D.2 - Water and Marine Resources