In a highly critical report last November, Sweden’s Auditor General described her government’s support to the fishing industry as all but totally inefficient.
Overcapacity in the fishing fleet is a major problem in professional fisheries, and a reduction of this fleet is decisive for reaching the goal of long-term sustainable fisheries, she wrote while presenting the report, which is now available in its entirety in English. But such a reduction is counteracted by huge subsidies and exemptions from taxes, she added, describing the whole process as ”artificial respiration”.
The government uses one hand to give fishermen support to continue fishing, while the other hand offers support for stopping. “In other words, tax payers get little in exchange for their money with today’s efforts”, she concluded.