Social and economic research

In her letter of 22 December 2008, the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality informed the Lower House that four sites had been notified to the European Commission under the Habitat Directive. This signalled the Minister’s intention to protect the nature at these sites against any harm. One form of harm present in the North Sea is posed by commercial fishing and the way in which fishing is carried out.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is keen to gain a good impression of the negative effects of fisheries activity on nature. She wishes to balance this with a firm knowledge of the economic consequences of any fisheries measures that may be taken. For this reason, LEI at Wageningen UR has been commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to carry out a study of the economic effects of fisheries measures at particular sites in the North Sea. This research has three phases.

In the first phase of the study detailed data is gathered from the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries about the extent of fisheries activities, the catches and fish prices. These data are entered in a geographic information system (GIS). Using this system, calculations can be carried out with the data and the results can be presented in map form. These GIS maps can visualise any manner of situations, such as the value of fisheries activity in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Next, this knowledge can be used to determine the value of fisheries activity on the Dogger Bank, the Cleaver Bank, the Frisian Front, the Vlakte van de Raan and in North Sea Coastal Zone 2.

In the second phase of the study, the data from phase one are used to calculate the economic effect of various potential fisheries measures. Also studied are the effects the measures may have on the behaviour of fishermen: do they switch to using other sites, for example, and if so, which ones. Other claims on space in the North Sea and their possible effects on the fishermen will also be considered. For example, the siting of wind farms at sea.

In the third phase of the study, the economic consequences will be calculated of the proposed fisheries measures on the fisheries sector.