This was the conclusion of a study by LEI Wageningen UR commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The landing obligation for by-catches of species with quotas will require fishermen to bring in undersized and non-marketable fish. The yields from by-catches to be landed will not balance out the costs of landing them. Because the by-catches may not be used for human consumption, the price which they can command will be relatively low. The market survey demonstrates that a selling price of between €0.15 and €0.30 per kg can be expected for by-catches.
The scenario study assumes that the catch composition and all fishing activities will be the same as in the baseline year (2011). In the first scenario, in which the catch quota is equal to the current quota plus by-catches, the extra costs for the Dutch offshore fishing fleet would amount to between €6 million and €14 million.
In the second scenario, in which the catch quota to be implemented is equal to the current quota, the net costs will be between €23 million and €28 million. These figures do not include additional costs for full monitoring of the catch through the use of cameras (€6 million) or by the presence of observers on all trips (approximately €18 million)
