Reducing Fishing Capacity : Best Practices for Decommissioning Schemes Too many fishing vessels chasing too few fish is a persistent problem in many countries. To address this governments often turn to vessel decommissioning schemes as a means of adjusting fishing capacity to match available fish resources. This report presents a set of best practice guidelines on the design and implementation of decommissioning schemes. By drawing on case studies of decommissioning schemes from OECD and non OECD countries it provides policy makers and fisheries managers with detailed analysis of the economic issues surrounding decommissioning schemes.