Swedish pelagic fishing vessel in the port of Skagen. Photo: Henrik Hamrén

The general drive to reduce fossil fuel emissions is finally coming to the European Union fishing fleets. One of the first steps in the process was a “call for evidence” that the European Commission sent out in November 2022. In it, the Commission proposed four ways to accelerate decarbonisation, one of which was to commit to securing adequate financial support for the energy transition of the fishing sector. 

Stockholm University’s Baltic Sea Centre responded to the Call for Evidence, and one key message was that decarbonisation measures will be more effective and efficient if fish stocks are strengthened. 

Fundings for an energy transition 

Since then, the process has continued, and in February 2023, the Commission issued a Communication outlining two main directions of change: improving energy efficiency and switching from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources. 

“The Communication underlined the importance of increasing fish stocks as a step towards energy efficiency, which of course was positive. It also described EU support schemes and relaxation of restrictions on state aid, that would allow various sources of funding for an energy transition in the sector,” says Charles Berkow, policy analyst at the Baltic Sea Centre. 

Subsequently, in June 2023 the Commission launched a new and broad stakeholder Energy Transition Partnership (ETP). The ETP is seen as a key step in the 2024 preparation of a roadmap for the energy transition towards climate neutrality by 2050, which the Commission intends to prepare in close cooperation with the EU fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

The fishing lobby wants subsidies

In advance of the first ETP stakeholder workshop, held on November 28th, two environmental NGOs and an organisation representing small-scale and low impact fishers held a webinar for journalists and others interested in the process.

One of the main topics discussed was subsidies in the form of exemption from energy taxes on fossil fuel and other carbon pricing alternatives (such as the Emissions Trading System). Early in the process, a leading lobby organisation for the fishing sector, Europêche, made it clear that it wants subsidies and a relaxation of the EU regulations on capacity of fishing vessels.

Increasing fish stocks improves energy efficiency

At the webinar Charles Berkow pointed out that any subsidies should be seen as supplements to, not substitutes for, the more fundamental issues of increasing fish stocks and removing subsidies. 

“Increasing fish stocks will improve energy efficiency, as less energy is needed to catch the same amount of fish. Subsidies reduce incentives to save energy. They also keep continued use of fossil fuel cheaper than less climate-disturbing alternatives,” he explains.

Measures to decrease subsidies and increase fish stocks would both have the added benefit of improving the marine environment, Berkow notes. 

"Farm-to-fork" instead of "pipe-to-port"

The EU regulations on fishing fleet capacity – identified by the Commission’s Green Paper in 2009 as a root cause of problems such as overfishing, depleted stocks, poor profitability and poor compliance – do not consider the increased ability to catch fish through continual improvements in fishing methods, so-called “technological creep”. 

“There is therefore a lot of ‘space’ under the EU capacity ceilings, so they are not a barrier to new technologies on the national or EU-levels,” says Berkow.

Further, his and the Baltic Sea Centre’s stance is that when evaluating different technologies for decarbonising the fishing fleet, it is important to use a “farm-to-fork” approach instead of the more limited “pipe-to-port” approach which is often used. 

“For example, if the climate impact of producing biofuels is ignored there is a risk for sub-optimisation. And if there is a focus on fuel use per tonne fish, fishing of small pelagic species for fish meal for aquaculture looks much more attractive than if looking at the carbon impact of the food on the plate,” Berkow concludes.

Charles Berkow’s remarks and the rest of the webinar can be viewed here.

Text: Henrik Hamrén