Input versus output controls as instruments for fisheries management with a focus on Mediterranean fisheries

• Published in: Marine Policy
• Main Authors: Bellido Millán, José María, Sumaila, U. Rashid, Sánchez-Lizaso, José Luis, Palomares, Maria Lourdes, Pauly, Daniel
• Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Biología Marina, Recursos Hídricos y Desarrollo Sostenible
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020
• Subjects: Fishing effort; Quota; Technical measures; Fishery policy; Enforcement; Zoología; Canada; Madariaga; Oceana; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/101947; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103786

Article 4 of EU Regulation 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) define ‘technical measure’ as “a measure that regulates the composition of catches by species and size and the impacts on components of the ecosystems resulting from fishing activities by establishing conditions for the use and structure of fishing gear and restrictions on access to fishing areas.” Thus, these are a set of rules that govern where, when and how fishing can take place. Most of the fisheries management systems in place worldwide employ technical measures based on control of inputs and outputs. For Europe, the European Commission is reforming the CFP legislative framework and has updated and amended the rules for technical measures (EU Regulation 2019/1241). This is particularly important for management systems in the European parts of the Mediterranean, where input measures play a major role, in contrast to management systems in the North East Atlantic, which uses mainly output measures (catch quota). We discuss here the main advantages and disadvantages of these instruments with a particular focus on the European part of the Mediterranean Sea, our main aim being to foster a debate on the best measures for fisheries management. JMB wrote this article during a sabbatical at UBC, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education (Convocatoria MECD Salvador de Madariaga, 2017, Ref. PRX17/00355). This article is mainly based on the analysis in “Fishing management based on technical measures - the need of a new framework for the Mediterranean Sea”, which was requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries and presented at the “Workshop on a new technical measures framework for the new Common Fishery Policy” at the European Parliament in Brussels on 13th October 2015. We acknowledge the financial support provided by the European Parliament for carrying out this work. MLP and DP are supported by the Sea Around Us, a research initiative funded by several philanthropic foundations, notably the Oak Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Bloomberg Foundation via Rare, Oceana, Marisla Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and MAVA Foundation. RS is supported by SSHRC, MEOPAR and Genome Canada and BC.