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Sep 28, 2023 · The 2022 report on the UK commercial fishing industry including statistical tables and underlying data sets.
- 1. Key Statistics - Landings
- 2. UK summary
- 3. Vessel nationality
- 4. Vessel length
- 5. Industry group[footnote 3]
- 6. Species group
- 7. Demersal
- 8. Pelagic
- 9. Shellfish
In 2022, UK vessels landed 640 thousand tonnes of sea fish with a value of £1.04 billion. Compared to 2021, this is a decrease of 2% in quantity, however an increase in value of 13%. The increase in value is mainly driven by higher fish prices.
Landings into the UK by foreign vessels in 2022 was 19 thousand tonnes, which compared to 2021 represents a 4% reduction. Landings abroad by UK vessels also decreased to 245 thousand tonnes, a reduction of 5%.
In 2022, UK vessels landed 640 thousand tonnes[footnote 1] of sea fish into the UK and abroad with a value of £1.04 billion[footnote 2]. Compared to 2021, this is a decrease in the quantity of sea fish landed (2%), however a 13% increase in value landed.
Multiple factors impact fishing, and landings tend to fluctuate considerably over time. Since 2020, the biggest impact on sea fisheries was the effect of the UK’s departure from the EU. This had an impact on the stocks the UK fleet had access to fish in subsequent years, including 2022.
Species groups
Fish are commonly split into three groups of similar species.
1.Demersal fish inhabit the bottom of the ocean. Key demersal species fished by the UK fleet include cod and haddock.
2.Pelagic fish inhabit the water column (not near the seabed or shore). The two main pelagic species fished by the UK fleet are mackerel and herring.
Figure 2.1: Quantity of landings by the UK fleet between 2018 and 2022 by fisheries administration.
Of the four UK nations, Scotland lands the most fish by quantity and value. At the country level, the landed weight of fish by each of the four nations remains relatively stable over time. A notable exception is the 13% decrease in landings by Scottish vessels between 2018 and 2019. This reduction was mainly driven by a reduction in landings of pelagic species, due to smaller quotas for key pelagic species. In recent years (2021 and 2022) this has now returned to 2018 levels, again driven by an increase in available quota for key pelagic stocks leading to increased pelagic uptake compared to 2019 and 2020.
Over three quarters of the total quantity of fish caught by UK vessels in 2022 was landed by vessels over 24 metres in length. In 2022, these vessels represented just 4% of the UK fleet by number. The large volume of landings by these large vessels is explained by their very high fishing capacity and power.
Landings of pelagic species by vessels over 24 metres in length accounted for 97% of the annual total pelagic landings for the whole UK fleet. 75% of all landings of demersal species by the UK fleet were by vessels over 24 metres in length.
In contrast, landings of shellfish are more evenly distributed across the fleet, with vessels 10 metres and under in length accounting for 21% of the total quantity of shellfish landings. Landings of shellfish made by 18 – 24m vessels accounted for 24% of shellfish landings.
Table 2.2: Quantity of landings by UK vessels 10m and under and over 10m
Figure 2.3: Value of landings by the UK fleet in 2022 by fishing vessel length and species group.
Overall, vessels under 10 metres fetch a higher price per tonne for their landings (landings by under 10 metre vessels are 69% higher than those by over 24 metre vessels). This is especially true for demersal catches. Demersal landings by vessels under 10 metres fetch prices 65% higher than vessels over 24 metres. Landings of demersal species by larger vessels tend to be frozen on board the vessel and sold in bulk, contributing to their lower price per tonne.
Around 86% of the quantity of landings by the UK fleet in 2022 was landed by vessels in a Fish Producer Organisation (FPO) . The largest FPO, Scottish FPO, accounted for 18% of both the quantity and value of fish landed by the UK fleet.
Some Producer Organisations target specific species groups. For example, vessels in North Atlantic FPO, Lunar Group and Interfish and Klondyke primarily target pelagic species. Other FPOs are segregated more by region. For example, Wales and West Coast FPO and South Western FPO.
Over a third of UK vessels over 10 metres in length were in the non-sector (vessels without Producer Organisation membership). These vessels typically have limited access to fishing quota and primarily target shellfish species, which are mostly non-quota stocks. In 2022 they caught 29% of all shellfish, 1% of demersal and 1% of pelagic species landed by the UK fleet.
Vessels 10 metres and under in length without Producer Organisation membership (the ‘10m and under pool’) also landed relatively small quantities of demersal and pelagic species, with 79% shellfish landings. The fishing methods used by this sector and the different species targeted mean that they typically gain higher than average prices for their catch (Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.4: Quantity of landings by UK vessels in 2022 by species group.
Pelagic species make up 60% of the total quantity of landings by UK vessels, while only contributing just under a third of the value landed (Figure 2.5) this is due to pelagic species typically fetching a lower price per tonne. Shellfish landings make up 19% of the total quantity landed but accounted for £50 million more than pelagic landings. In 2022, a slightly higher proportion of landings by quantity were demersal (21%) than in 2021 (20%).
Figure 2.5: Value of landings by UK vessels between 2018 and 2022 by species group.
The value of landings increased in 2022 across all species groups, with value of landings for demersal species showing the largest increase compared to 2021.
The value of pelagic landings between 2021 and 2022 increased by 4%, even with a decrease in quantity landed of pelagic species, due to prices of key pelagic species slightly up compared to 2021[footnote 6].
The quantity of demersal landings increased by 2% while the value of those landings increased by 18%. Shellfish landings decreased by 3% while their value increased by 15%. The price per tonne fetched for shellfish species increased across all species groups, with the highest increase seen in shellfish (21%). Pelagic species had the smallest increase (5%).
Figure 2.6: Quantity and value of landings between 2018 and 2022 by UK vessels of different demersal species fish; Cod, Haddock, and Monks or Anglers.
Landings of key demersal, species specifically cod and haddock, have increased in 2022. Landings of cod increased compared to 2021 (20%) leading to a large increase in the value landed (53%).
Landings of demersal species, particularly cod and haddock, have fallen considerably since 1996. This follows the long-term declining trend reported since 1938[footnote 7]. In 2022, landings of demersal fish were around 16% of the quantity landed in 1938.
The decline in landings of demersal fish has several causes, including reductions in fleet size, declining fish stocks and restricted fishing opportunities. National and international regulations have limited demersal fishing activity in recent decades, through decommissioning of fishing vessels, reductions in quotas and fishing effort limits and other provisions of stock management plans.
Figure 2.7: Quantity and value of landings in 2022 by UK vessels of different demersal species fish; Cod, Haddock, and Monks or Anglers.
Landings of cod fluctuate more than haddock and anglerfish as the UK’s distant water fleet has targeted cod in e.g., Faroese waters. The distant water fleet are vessels that fish outside their own territories and often into other countries Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and international waters. These large vessels can be out to sea for months and land huge volumes of fish at a time. This explains the spikes in quantity landed every few months.
Figure 2.9: Quantity and value of landings between 2018 and 2022 by UK vessels of different pelagic species fish; Blue Whiting, Herring, and Mackerel.
In 2022, the quantity of mackerel landed by UK vessels was 5% lower than in 2021 however, the value landed showed little change (<1%). The UK fleet catches more mackerel than any other species – over 213 thousand tonnes in 2022, comprising 33% of the total UK catch in 2022. 58% of mackerel landings by UK vessels were landed abroad in 2022.
Most pelagic species are under stock management plans with quotas. Their annual landings therefore track quota limits. Landings of herring have not fluctuated as much as mackerel, as their quota limits have been more stable in the past five years.
Like most demersal species, most pelagic species are managed by quota limits. However, pelagic landings have not seen the same reduction as demersal species over the very long term. When compared to 1938, pelagic landings in 2022 were 43 % lower, while demersal landings were down 84%.
Figure 2.10: Quantity and value of landings in 2022 by UK vessels of different pelagic species fish; Blue Whiting, Herring, and Mackerel.
Pelagic landings follow seasonal patterns. Mackerel is a winter fishery for larger vessels therefore, large landings are seen annually in January, February and October and November. Quotas had almost been exhausted by the end of the year, so catches are consistently lower in December.
Figure 2.12: Quantity and value of landings between 2018 and 2022 by UK vessels of different shellfish species fish; Crabs, Nephrops, and Scallops.
Nephrops (also known as langoustine or Norway lobster), crabs and scallops are the main shellfish species landed by the UK fleet, accounting for 68% of all shellfish landings made by the UK fleet in 2022.
Value of landings of these three key species increased between 2021 and 2022, the increase in the value of nephrops landings was the most prominent at 28%.
Over the last eighty years, landings of demersal and pelagic landings have decreased substantially (discussed above). In contrast, landings of shellfish have increased by over 260%, from 32 thousand tonnes to almost 116 thousand tonnes in 2022.
This is partly driven because, for shellfish species, quotas only apply to nephrops. Further, the increase in shellfish landings by the UK fleet is likely due to the industry diversifying into the shellfish sector, where there are often fewer restrictions on fishing opportunities.
Successive improvements in data collection for this sector in recent years, including the introduction of mandatory reporting of first sales of fish, may account for some of the increase in reported landings. A large proportion of shellfish landings are by vessels 10 metres or under in length, for which there was no statutory obligation to report activity prior to 2022. From March 2022 this is now mandatory, with the introduction of the catch recording app. Due to 2022 representing an incomplete year of catch recording data, this is not included within landings figures within this release.
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2 days ago · This page contains the latest fish prices for fish selling through Scrabster Fishmarket. The prices will be updated regularly. All prices are per kg. The prices shown are those that are correct at the time they are entered.
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Sep 27, 2023 · In 2022, Scottish vessels landed 429 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a gross value of £617 million (Table 8). Compared to 2021 there was an increase of four per cent in the real value of landings and a two per cent decrease in the tonnage landed.
