Private investment would compensate fishermen and maintain boats.
A senior UK fishing industry representative said stocks were already improving and the idea made no sense.
Unsustainable fishing remains a major issue for the EU, where 75% of stocks are still overfished and catches are only a fraction of what they were 15-20 years ago.
The European Parliament approved measures this week against third countries which allowed the practice.
However, Maritime and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki recently reported progress in the fight to reduce overfishing.
No catch?
In its report, No Catch Investment, Nef said it had calculated the costs of restoring fish stocks and found they were far outweighed by the economic benefits in the short and long term.
Estimated restocking times- Mackerel: matter of months
- Icelandic cod: under five years
- Skagerrak cod: nine years
It looked at 51 out of 150 commercial fish stocks, including hake, mackerel, whiting and Icelandic cod.
Most, it said, could be restored to sustainable levels within five years, with some varieties such as certain mackerel and herring needing less than a year. More
