The aim of this report is to analyse to which extent the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) (and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)) contribute to the development of sustainable fisheries in Germany to examine to which extent government economic incentives can contribute to better implementation of CFP objectives.

Section one gives an overview about the structure and capacity of the German fleet.

Section two provides the context of German fisheries, in particular the policy context of the CFP and MSFD, features of the German fishing fleet, and whether Germany has addressed overcapacity in the fishing fleet (often characterised as too many boats chasing too few fish).

Section three reviews policy instruments that are available to manage fisheries from incentive-based to new methods such as alternative income and nudging. As incentive-based policy approaches offer a great deal of promise to supplement traditional regulatory instruments and may also overcome some of the resistance faced, this section analyses these policies in more detail. Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the common fisheries policy stipulates the following: ‘When allocating the fishing opportunities available to them, as referred to in Article 16, Member States shall use transparent and objective criteria including those of an environmental, social and economic nature. The criteria to be used may include, inter alia, the impact of fishing on the environment, the history of compliance, the contribution to the local economy and historic catch levels. Within the fishing opportunities allocated to them, Member States shall endeavour to provide incentives to fishing vessels deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact, such as reduced energy consumption or habitat damage’.

Article 17 of the CFP urges Member States to consider environmental and socio-economic criteria when allocating fishing opportunities, which are more easily addressed through incentive-based instruments. Germany is not alone in addressing these issues. Other countries have implemented different and successful instruments to tackle overfishing and marine protection and there are lessons to be learned for German fisheries policy.

Section four documents examples of best practice from Denmark, Ireland, the UK and France within the CFP and the Faroe Islands and Norway outside the CFP.

Section five concludes with some prioritized actions for sustainable fisheries in Germany.

This report chapter was originally published by Deutsche Umwelthilfe here.