Gross Tonnage Capacity

Gross tonnage is a volume-based measure of a vessel’s enclosed space, used with engine power in kilowatts as the standard unit of fleet capacity in fisheries management. The EU caps each member state’s fleet in GT and kW under the Common Fisheries Policy entry-exit regime, so new tonnage can enter only as equivalent tonnage leaves. GT is set by the 1969 International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, giving a consistent yardstick across fleets. Capacity ceilings in GT and kW are the levers behind decommissioning and vessel-reduction programs.