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Fishing is concentrated in coastal and peripheral areas, which are often disadvantaged.
Because of this concentration, any CFP measure which strengthens the competitiveness of the sector tends to contribute to social and economic cohesion. The overall dependency of the Union on fishing, in terms of catches, declined only slightly between 1990 and 1997, the reduction being compensated by an increased dependency on fish farming. Accordingly, the regions in which dependency has risen are those where development is lagging behind. In line with the principle of relative stability, fishing quotas are divided equally among Member States and have, therefore, no effect on cohesion. In the long-term, however, the adjustment of the fishing effort to available reserves and the restructuring of the sector are likely to arrest the decline.