Potentials and challenges in fleet‐ and métier‐ based approaches for fisheries management in the CFP

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The inconsistency of single‐species objectives in a mixed‐fisheries context has repeatedly been highlighted as a key issue in the current CFP, and it has long been recognized that this issue would be better addressed through fleet (group of vessels) and métier (type of activity) – based approaches. Since the late 1980s, when such approaches were first introduced, there have been substantial developments in this area of science to the point where the concepts of fleet and métier now underpin the whole EU Data Collection Framework. However, while fleet‐based approaches are in theory valuable improvements to the single‐species approaches, in practice their implementation in the management system has been slow and difficult. Substantial improvements have been made, but a number of intrinsic issues still remain, hampering the practical implementation of fleet‐based approaches. This manuscript summarises the current fleet‐based approaches ongoing in EU fisheries management, and discusses both their potentials and challenges in the context of the future CFP, based on our practical experience. We conclude that within the “governance headache” of mixed fisheries, due to the management complexity, the scientific uncertainty and the political sensitivity of these issues, fleets / metiers based approaches would though potentially address a wider range of problems than the current stock‐based approach.