Can machine learning techniques help to improve the common fisherries policy?

Abstract

The overcapacity of the European fishing fleets is one of the recognized factors for the lack of success of the Common Fisheries Policy. Unwanted non-targeted species and other incidental fish likely represent one of the causes for the overexploitation of fish stocks; thus there is a clear connection between this problem and the type of fishing gear used by vessels. This paper performs an environmental impact study of the Spanish Fishing Fleet by means of ordinal classification techniques to emphasize the need to design an effective and differentiated common fish policy for “artisan fleets”, that guarantees the maintenance of environmental stocks and the artesan fishing culture.