Forecasts for 2022 suggest an overall lower economic performance compared to 2021 driven by decreases in both landings weight, but an increase in value, according to the 2022 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet recently released by the JRC.

EU fisheries are expected to struggle to maintain profits due to the sharp increase in energy costs and inflation in 2022, and the EU fishing fleet may have ended 2022 in a loss-making position. The results in this report also show that the objectives of sustainable fishing and energy transition are mutually reinforcing and necessary to ensure the long-term socio-economic viability of the EU fishing sector. In addition to projections for 2022, the report also looks back at 2020 when the sector was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also mentions the effects of the increase of fuel prices due to the military aggression of Russia in Ukraine on operational costs.