In March, a shadow evaluation of the EU's fisheries subsidy was released by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd. and the Pew Environment Group, in anticipation of the European Commission's own evaluation of the program.

Using data from www.fishsubsidy.org, the shadow study analysed how €4.9 billion (US$ 6.3 billion) of funds allocated by the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) have been spent in EU countries between the years 2000-2006. It finds that the subsidy did not achieve the levels of capacity reduction that were intended, and in some cases led to capacity increases, with cutbacks in tonnage and engine power being offset by annual efficiency gains. The report goes on to identify that 29% of the funds were used in ways that would increase fishing capacity, 54% had neutral or unclear impacts and only 17% were used in ways that would reduce capacity. The study reveals that, with the exception of Italy and Poland, no European country makes qualification for subsidies dependent on compliance with the EU fishing rules.

The shadow evaluation concludes that the subsidies contributed to the overfished status of several important European stocks and hindered the recovery of others. Only one fish stock, North Sea cod, is identified as having benefited.

In comparison, the European Commission's official evaluation is less clear and carefully worded. It acknowledges that the FIFG led to the overfishing of some stocks, and that the goals regarding fishing resources were "were not clearly defined", given the inconsistency between efforts to reduce fishing capacity and subsidies for the construction of new, more productive vessels. These points, however, are made cursorily among other findings and are not presented as significant conclusions. Although the report recommends that future fishery support should be designed to promote "more sustainable fisheries", the message is weak and lost among a crowd of other, competing objectives.

Both evaluations take place amid continued demands for increased transparency about the FIFG's successor, the European Fisheries Fund, which is responsible for the allocation of subsidies in the 2007-2013 funding cycle. For more information see www.fishsubsidy.org, which as of 29 April is now also available to read in Spanish.

The shadow evaluation can be downloaded from the Pew Environment Group's website.

The EC's official evaluation can be downloaded from its website.