This document provides tested and standardized tools to collect the data needed for a socio-economic assessment of a fishery, including sampling design, quality checks and how to transform inputs into statistics.

This manual contains guidance on data collection methods for developing socio-economic indicators, and it can be used to facilitate and simplify reporting under international conventions and agreements on matters relating to the sustainable fisheries development. The methodologies can be applied to fisheries at many different levels, from individual fisheries and coastal management units to a global level, and it aims to encourage consistent use of statistical methods in data collection.

A comparative analysis of socioeconomic indicators of the main fishing fleets in eastern Mediterranean countries was carried out by experts from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey and Italy during the EastMed Working Group on Fisheries Data Analysis, FAO, Rome, 10 to 14 September 2018. The fisheries production in the subregion in 2016 totalled 449 400 tonnes, with a cumulative value of USD 1.2 billion. The fishing fleet comprised 36 143 vessels which operated for three million days and directly generated a total of 66 383 jobs, calculated on a full-time basis. When comparing the value added per fisheries worker to the same indicator calculated for agriculture, the performance of the fisheries sector was stronger than that of agriculture in Egypt and Turkey. In all the other countries, the value added per agricultural worker was markedly higher than that generated by fisheries. Overall, Turkey had the most profitable fleet segments in the region. In terms of fuel efficiency, Turkey and Lebanon performed well, probably as a result of a number of factors, including the fishing areas and the targeted species. The salary per fisher against the minimum wage showed the best performance in Egypt, where a fisher on average earned double the minimum wage paid by the manufacturing sector. On the other hand, in Palestine the average salary of a fisher was below the minimum wage and dangerously close to the international poverty line. In most cases, the small-scale fleets performed steadily, with some indicators above the national average.

Small-scale fisheries play an important role in contributing to food security, nutrition, livelihoods and local and national economies. However, there is often limited data and information available (or not easily accessible) on their contributions, and hence small scale fisheries tend to be overlooked and marginalized in policy processes, leading to low levels of support for the sector. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and P overty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines), adopted by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in 2014, provide a policy framework for how to ensure sustainability for small-scale fisheries through a holistic and integrated approach. However, this transformational process needs substantial support to take place and be successful, which may be difficult to obtain in the absence of better data and information on the socio-economic contributions of small-scale fisheries. For this reason, a new study has been proposed by FAO and WorldFish to build upon the 2012 World Bank, FAO and WorldFish Center report Hidden Harvest: The Global Contribution of Capture Fisheries. The new study would deepen the knowledge and encourage data-sharing on small-scale fisheries and their socio-economic contributions, and also aim to make policy- and decision-makers aware of the sector’s importance.

This third edition of the State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries provides a comprehensive overview of the status of fisheries in the region, looking at their main features and trends, in order to better inform their management and better examine current and future challenges that they will face in the near future. The aim of this report is to produce a document that could provide useful analysis and direction for decision-making and future action. In this respect, this publication also represents a convenient source of information for the FAO Committee on Fisheries and offers a practical complement to the data provided in the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture published by the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. This volume includes seven chapters divided into two sections: a first part on the status and trends of different aspects of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries, including fleet, catches, socio-economic variables and bycatch, and a second part that focuses on the management of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries, including an overview on small-scale fisheries. This report is based to a large extent on the most up-to-date data available submitted by GFCM contracting and cooperating non-contracting parties, including information on stock status, national catches, fleet and socio-economic information up to 2018. It is also complemented with information from other sources.

Marine recreational fisheries are an integral part of Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal life and are commonly practiced throughout the region. Recreational fisheries also represent an important driver of coastal tourism, which constitutes one of the region’s most important maritime sectors in terms of gross value added and employment. However, despite their ubiquity and potential socio-economic contribution, recreational fisheries are a data-poor sector and can vary widely from one country to another, thus impairing proper consideration of the recreational fisheries sector in policy-making and undermining efforts towards sustainable fisheries management at the regional level. The main goal of this handbook is therefore to provide a clear methodological framework to allow Mediterranean and Black Sea countries to implement suitably harmonized sampling and survey monitoring schemes for recreational fisheries. This handbook establishes a minimum set of necessary information for monitoring recreational fisheries, while, at the same time, allowing for flexibility to accommodate national specificities and data collection needs. It also provide guidance on the data analysis process as well as advice to successfully engage stakeholders in the data collection process.

This review of the techno-economic performance of the main global fishing fleets discusses the outcomes from 20 country-level studies of fishing fleets from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. It includes financial, socio-economic and technical information from 103 major (semi-) industrial fishing fleet segments, which are responsible for an estimated 39 percent of marine capture fisheries production worldwide. The analysis of vessel characteristics reveals substantial differences in fishing capacity (in terms of vessel length, tonnage and power) between fleet segments. An increase in the gross tonnage of average vessels was observed in fleet segments also covered in previous reviews. Substantial increases in average length overall and engine power were observed in several Asian fishing fleets. The age structure of the fishing fleets in most regions, except Asia, shows an upward trend. An analysis of the costs and earnings data showed that labour and running costs were the two main cost components for the majority of fleet segments. Ninety-two percent of 97 fleet segments reported a positive net cash flow in the year they were surveyed, in the 2016–2019 period. Net profit margins of 10 percent or more were realized by average fishing vessels in 73 percent of the fleet segments. Returns on investment (ROIs) of 10 percent or higher were realized by 61 percent of the fleet segments. The review also discusses developments in fishing technologies. These developments, along with a general increase in seafood prices, successful fisheries management in some areas, and improved fleet capacity management in Europe and North America, have all contributed to the ongoing, positive financial and economic performance of the main global fishing fleets in recent years.