AgriFood-Other

Socio-economic effects of the Swedish scrapping program, Swedish Board of Agriculture evaluation report 2017:3.

This report examines the effects of two scrapping schemes aimed at demersal cod trawlers in 2008 and 2009 in Sweden. In total 29 vessels were scrapped at a cost of 135 million SEK. The purpose of the report is to determine to what extent owners of the scrapped vessels have reinvested in new vessels and how effort and catches have evolved after the campaigns. The study also examines to what extent owners have left the fishing industry and, if so, their position in the labor market.

The evaluation shows that a number of owners have reinvested in new vessels after the campaigns. These vessels are on average smaller compared to the scrapped vessels and mainly target other species than cod. Among individuals of working age, few were unemployed and a majority had incomes from fisheries or fisheries-related activities after the campaigns. The fact that the scrapping schemes seem to have led to increased effort in fishery segments where it is relatively easy to enter illustrates the importance of considering spill-over effects when introducing scrapping measures.

The report is in Swedish with an English summary.