The bad, the good and the very good of the landing obligation implementation in the Bay of Biscay: A case study of Basque trawlers

• Landing obligation has in the short term negative effect on the economic performance of the fleets.
• Exemptions and flexibilities are likely to reduce these short term negative effects but with a long term penalty.
• In the mid-term there is a strategic game in where all fleets have the incentives to improve their selectivity.
• Landing obligation creates a breeding ground for a more sustainable fishery.

Landing obligation (LO) has become a core element on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In this work a bioeconomic simulation tool is used to anticipate the effects of LO in a particular fleet that by its nature is likely to be highly affected by its implementation. These effects are measured in terms of biologic, economic and fleet indicators.Results show how LO has a negative short term effect in the economic performance of the fleet (the bad). That the exemption and flexibilities foreseen in the CFP alleviate, in the short term, the effects of the choke species and the redistribution effects created (the good). Furthermore, results show that there are private incentives to improve the selectivity and to reduce the discard levels of the fleets. It is concluded how a breeding ground for a more sustainable and productive system is created (very good).