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We put under scrutiny the ‘artisanal vs. industrial’ dichotomy used by French fisheries management for classifying fishing operations. Recent evolutions in the Atlantic fishing sector urge us to question its applicability. In particular the definition of the so-called ‘artisanal fishing model’ is under pressure (e.g., decline of family-based fishing, multi-vessel companies increasingly common, emergence of new forms of firm governance). Using mixed-method research (interviews, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and hierarchical clustering), we propose a new typology for classifying multi-vessel fishing firms, based on six organizational attributes (ownership structure, firm structure, management strategy, firm size, fishing strategy and valorization strategy). We have carried out a three-step analysis. First, the MCA suggests that the diversity of organizational forms can be described to a great extent in terms of the profile of the owner and the firm’s management and valorization strategies. The cluster analysis then separates organizational configurations in five types, based on cluster-specific modalities: access to key information, legal form, vessel maintenance and standardization, growth objectives and management structure. The final description of the types draws from additional interview data as well as variables that were not used in the analysis. The typology captures the diversity of governance configurations currently existing in the sector, while providing some insight into their origins and future trajectories. We conclude that the artisanal model is outdated and insufficient for describing the organizational diversity of modern-day fishing firms, especially those in the 12–18 m and 18–24 m segments.

Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. This report further develops the methodologies for the collection and analysis of social data in fisheries, to be applied for the collection of social data for the data call 2021 and the subsequent analysis and use of these data. Additionally, the report assesses the impact of the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation and the implementation of its Articles 5.2 (access to waters) and 16 and 17 (fishing opportunities) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the social situation of small-scale coastal fishers and their communities.

In this deliverable we investigated the drivers of investment in fisheries and how those can be activated to stimulate investment in alternative technologies to protect the benthos. To capture a wider range of factors than quantitative factors only we modified the work plan and included interviews with fishing industries in all regions. As a result we identified a wide range of reasons why fishers have (or have not) invested in alternative gears. As expected, the profitability of alternative technology is an important factor to invest but we also found many others. Those drivers were classified as economic, technical, regulatory, social, governance and environmental drivers. As advice to managers we also identified where and how interventions could improve uptake of technology.