Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2019

The Chief Statistician released figures that show that in 2019, Scottish registered fishing vessels landed 393 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a gross value of £582 million. This is a 12% decrease in tonnage and a 1% decrease in real terms value (adjusted for inflation) from 2018.

There were 2,098 active Scottish registered fishing vessels in 2019, an increase of 9 vessels from 2018 due to growth in the ten metre and under fleet. The number of fishers working on these vessels was 4,886, which is up 1% on 2018.

Landings of shellfish species have seen an increase in both tonnage and value relative to 2018. Tonnage caught increased by 17% to 62 thousand tonnes and real terms value increased 10% to £196 million.

Between 2018 and 2019, landings of mackerel decreased by 16% in tonnage and there was a 5% decrease in value. Mackerel remained the most valuable species in 2019, representing 27% of the value of all Scottish vessels’ landings.

Background

Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics is a National Statistics publication produced by the Marine Analytical Unit (MAU) in Marine Scotland to provide detailed information on the Scottish fishing industry. The full statistical publication is available and includes the tonnage and value of all landings of sea fish and shellfish by Scottish vessels, all landings into Scotland, the rest of the UK and abroad. It also includes statistics on the size and structure of the Scottish fishing fleet and employment on Scottish vessels. The Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics are released annually and update the provisional statistics which were released in May.

Official statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.