Excess Capacity

Excess capacity is fleet harvesting power beyond what is needed to take the sustainable catch, the structural surplus that drives overfishing and chronic political pressure to raise quotas. A fleet built for a larger stock keeps its vessels, gear, and crew when the resource shrinks, so fixed costs push for more effort than the stock can bear. The FAO International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity (1999) targets it directly. Governments cut excess capacity through buybacks, decommissioning, and license retirement, though removed vessels often reappear in other fisheries.