Fisheries modelling at the Agrifood is to a large extent based on the Swedish Resource Rent Model for the Commercial Fishery (SRRMCF) which is developed in cooperation with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and the Department of Aquatic Resources at SLU. The model is used to analyze the economic effects of proposed management actions. This may be actions that directly affect fishing opportunities in the form of catch quotas, gear restrictions, etc., but also measures that indirectly affect fisheries such as environmental policies. In the model it is assumed that the fishing companies are flexible and can switch among different fishing activities. Various management measures will affect both the fishing activity it is focused on, but also other fisheries due to fishermen choosing to increase or decrease their effort as a result of the new regulation.

The model calculates the optimal economic distribution of fishing activities given the restrictions defined by biological conditions and management decisions. Examples of restrictions are fishing quotas, fishing seasons, gear restrictions, and limitations on fishing effort. The structure of the model is based on the definitions of segments and fishing activities (métiers) used in the data collection framework of the EU. The model covers the entire Swedish fishing fleet.

Model results are presented in the form of physical and economic indicators disaggregated by vessel segments. This allows for analyses of the fleet structure, such as how small-and large-scale fishing is affected by management actions. Examples of indicators are the number of vessels, full time employment, fishing effort, economic results and catch volumes.