ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AND CLUSTERS IN THE FISHERIES INDUSTRY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The global fisheries industry is growing rapidly and providing an increase in food security for the world�s population. Therefore, decision-making plays a key role in national development, which influences national policies across Europe. Effective management can differentiate countries from each other and change the intense growth of economic, technological and social competition. The aim of this study is to identify clusters in the fisheries sector in the European Union. To achieve this objective, a factor and cluster analysis was designed with the use of IBM SPSS software. The analyses were carried out for the 26 European Union Member States on the basis of 18 factors identified by the author, based on fishery parameters (production, fishing vessel data, employment), various social, economic and financial factors, including demographic data, household expenditure, DESI, etc., which provide a profile of each of the selected EU Member States. Data were provided from the EU databases for the same period of time. The author has developed an analysis of the factors and clusters of the fisheries sector in the European Union Member States and has concluded that there are differences in the fisheries sector in the different EU countries, depending on territorial specifics, environmental and sustainability problems. But, in order to address these problems more successfully, a solution is proposed for the promotion of fisheries business development, which would create jobs and reduce unemployment in the country, as well as boost the increase in fish haul as a food resource. This could promote more successful work of Member States involved in the development of fisheries policy and improve the Common Fisheries Policy.