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Press release

Annual UK fishing industry report published today

Date issued: 27 September 2012
Reference: 12/12

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) publishes its annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics 2011 report today, which shows a fall in quantity but an increase in value of fish landed by the UK fleet.

The report – available on the MMO website – includes detailed figures on the UK fishing fleet, the number of fishermen, the quantity and value of landings, international trade and the state of key fishing stocks.

The report shows that during 2011 UK vessels landed 600,000 tonnes of sea fish (including shellfish) into the UK and abroad with a value of £828 million. This represents a 1 per cent fall in quantity but a 15 per cent increase in value compared with 2010. The rise in value is primarily due to a large increase in the average price of pelagic fish.

The report highlights that in 2011:

• The UK fishing fleet remained the sixth largest in the EU in terms of vessel numbers, with the second largest capacity and fourth largest power. 6,444 fishing vessels were registered with a total capacity of 202,000 gross tonnage and total power of 809,000 kilowatts.
• Just over 12,400 fishermen were reported as active in the UK. Of these, around 2,400 were part-time.
• Scottish vessels accounted for 60 per cent of the quantity of landings by UK vessels while English vessels accounted for 28 per cent. Peterhead remained the port with highest landings in 2011, although these were down by 13 per cent from 2010 levels to 107,000 tonnes.
• Shellfish formed the majority of landings by the UK fleet into England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while pelagic fish had the highest share of landings into Scotland.
• In 2011, imports of fish and fish preparations rose to 720,000 tonnes, a 2 per cent increase from 2010. Over the same period, exports decreased by 15 per cent to 437,000 tonnes.
• World figures for 2010 showed that China remained the largest producer of fish, landing 13.4 million tonnes of fish.

The full report, and more detailed supplementary tables, can be seen at www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/statistics/annual.htm

Notes to editors

In 2010 the UK fleet landed 606,000 tonnes with a value of £719 million.

The report is a compendium publication with 2011 statistics on landings and structure and activity previously released by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on 30 August 2012 and 12 July 2012 respectively.

The MMO regulates the seas around England, including the management of fisheries.

The MMO has the difficult balancing task of ensuring that stocks are managed throughout the year to maximise fishing opportunities for the UK industry, whilst ensuring that stocks are not overfished and the UK Government and taxpayer does not have to pay steep penalties.

We are continually working with the fishing industry to improve day-to-day management with accurate catch limits and forecasts that secure longer fisheries, while safeguarding the welfare of fish stocks.

The MMO, through the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), awards millions of pounds every year to the fishing industry and communities.