After a long period in which regulations regarding engine power were regularly exceeded, the engine power in the Dutch cutter fleet has now been brought almost completely back to statutory norms. This has been shown in the study ‘Bringing fishing vessel engine power in line with legal standards: Final Evaluation of Co-management and Engine Power’.
The situation has gradually been improved since 2005. At that time, the government and fisheries sector agreed upon a close cooperative venture whereby each took a part of the responsibility for monitoring the cutters and imposing sanctions. The recently conducted final evaluation of this arrangement indicates that the engine power of the Dutch cutters now complies almost universally with the statutory requirements.
It was frustrating for the government that the engine power used by the cutter fleet had generally been exceeding the statutory norms for years. A turning point came in 2005 when the government and the sector joined forces. It was decided to introduce a system whereby the engine tuning, monitoring of engine power, and sanctions for exceeding the norms would be controlled by the sector itself. The government would be responsible for monitoring fishermen who did not participate in the agreed arrangement and would randomly check fishermen who had been checked by the sector.
Summary Bringing fishing vessel engine power in line with legal standards: Final Evaluation of Co-management and Engine Power