Many small-scale fishers supplement their fishing with activities such as fish processing. These operations are potentially important for maintaining the company's business throughout the year. There is currently a lack of information on how fishers have diversified their operations and how integrated their businesses are in the local economy.
The purpose of the project is to map the fishing-related activities of small-scale fisheries and assess their effects on the local economy. This is done through a questionnaire to the fishing industry where they are asked to describe their business. The results are linked to regional input-output models in order to estimate the multiplier effects that fishing has on the local economy. This provides information not only about the economic size of the fishing industry but also how it affects sectors that serve as suppliers to fishing or are dependent on locally sourced fish products. The study is limited to the Swedish Baltic Sea coast.
The project is funded by the Swedish Board of Agriculture and is a collaboration with Luleå University of Technology. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2024.