This paper summarises the key findings of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) ‘2015 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet’, and provides additional insight on trends in economic performance and the potential drivers of such trends. It also includes supplementary analyses focusing on trends by main fishing region and type of fishing activity (small-scale coastal fleets (SSCF) and large-scale fleets (LSF)). Results are based on data collected under the European Union (EU) Data Collection Framework (DCF) and additional information taken from fleet reports submitted by Member States (MS). It was produced by experts of the Structural Policy and Economic Analysis Unit of DG MARE and experts of the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen at the Joint Research Centre (JRC).