La pêche artisanale des années quatre-vingts en France

The artisanal fisheries industry has experienced a major development over the 80's: technology has improved and ship building costs have increased. The firms' economic behaviour and financial performances have shown that the marginal profitability of capital is lower for large units than for small units, the latter being used by coastal fisheries. Overall, conclusions on the financial situation of the industry must be qualified. Public intervention has materialized through (1) an increasing amount of state aids supporting modernization investment (Brittany being the most supported region), (2) more political and financial involvement of regions as a result of more administrative and decision making responsibilities being devolved to them, (3) the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy. At the end of the decade, the vessel operating license system and, shortly later on, the Mellick Plan, have been adopted in an attempt to limit the fishing effort more tightly. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR]