Economic and Environmental Aspects of Industrial Fishery in the Baltic Sea

Purpose: The study aims to develop a science-based economic mechanism for the innovative and sustainable development of the industrial fishery in the Baltic Sea. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research methodology is based on the systematic approach applied to the research of innovative development of food organizations using general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, classification. Findings: Fishing may serve various purposes, although the main one is to provide the market with fish for direct consumption. However, not all fish meet the requirements of consumers or sanitary services. Therefore, they are intended, in their unprocessed form, for non-consumption purposes, like fishmeal, oils and feed. Capture fishery of species intended for non-consumption purposes, known as industrial and feed fishery, is usually targeted at one particular fish species. The economic and natural aspects determine the nature and purpose of fishing as well. The sea is a complex ecosystem with interspecies connections called trophic network which is formed by mutually intertwined food chains. Practical implications: It allows for a statement that intensive catches of one species can disrupt the functioning of other species by violating the existing food chains. Such threat is posed by intensive industrial fishery in the Baltic, which is a small sea. It may result in overfishing, which has a natural and economic effect. On the other hand, the non-fishing of species that are unprofitable for consumption fishery is a waste of protein produced by nature. Originality/Value: The malfunctioning of the fish sector has an impact on the functioning of the entire economy which is a system of related and interacting elements. Improving fisheries policy improves the quality of economy as a whole. The comparison of statistical data was hampered by the changes in the data collection system in the European Union fishery, that took place in 2008, and the incompatibility of data from various EU agencies.