Seafood landings by the UK fleet
The UK fishing fleet caught a total of 680,000 tonnes¹ of fish and shellfish in 2023. While most of this fish was landed into the UK some was also landed directly into overseas countries such as Norway and Denmark.
¹Figure includes landings abroad by the UK fleet
680,000 tonnes are aboutthe same weight as194 large pelagic trawlers!
Volume of landings into the UK
Top 5 species
1. Mackerel 106,533 tonnes (+20%)
2. Herring 46,833 tonnes (-4%)
3. Haddock
38,397 tonnes (+17%)
4. Nephrops
27,402 tonnes (-4%)
5. Blue Whiting
26,877 tonnes (+56%)
²Excludes landings abroad
Did you know?
The UK’s lowest landed seafood by volume and value in 2023 was kingklip! Just 1.4 kg of this demersal fish was caught in 2023, valued at a grand total of 42 pence!
Value of landings into the UK
Top 5 species
1. Mackerel £132m (+16%)
2. Nephrops £111m (-8%)
3. King Scallops £60m (-5%)
4. Cod £45m (-7%)
5. Monks or Anglers £45m (-12%)
Did you know?
Demersal and Pelagic relates to the zone of the sea or ocean where fish
are
found.
Demersal fish live and feed near the bottom of seas and oceans known as the Demersal Zone.
Examples of Demersal
fish include cod, haddock, turbot and halibut.
Pelagic fish live and feed away from the bottom of seas and oceans known as the Pelagic
Zone. Pelagic fish contain more fish oil than demersal fish – sometimes up to 30%. Examples of pelagic fish
include mackerel, herring and tuna.
Performance of the UK fishing fleet
2023 was a muchbrighter year for theUK fishing fleet, with increases in fishing activity, market prices, and income.
Total
turnover
£1,075m
Operating
profit
£256m
Full-time
equivalent jobs
6,532
Active
vessels
3,889
Total fish and shellfish caught by UK
vessels:
680,000 tonnes £1,056m
Fishing fleet around the UK
The English fleet is larger in size and spends more days at sea on average but the Scottish fleet has double the catching capacity (vessel tonnage), lands more fish, and generates more fishing income.
UK vessels landed 24% of their value abroad
UK vessels and operations in the UK and abroad
Data notes and sources
Landings
Data Source: Marine Management Organisation.
Reference: MMO monthly landings statistics
https://www.gov.uk/government/
collections/monthly-uk-sea-fisheries-statistics
∙ A large pelagic trawler used for deep-sea fishing might weigh around 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes. So, if we take an average weight of 3,500 tonnes, 680,000 tonnes would be equivalent to the weight of around 194 large pelagic trawlers.
Fleet economic performance
Data source: Seafish
Reference: Seafish Fleet Enquiry Tool
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/
seafish/viz/FleetEnquiryTool/1Overview
Note that 2023 performance and landings data is provisional
Aquaculture production
Data Source: Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture (CEFAS)
Reference: Data supplied directly to Seafish
Trade (Imports and Exports)
Data Source: HMRC monthly data via Business Trade Statistics (BTS), processed by Seafish.
Reference: Seafish Trade and Tariff Tool
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/seafish/
viz/SeafishTradeandTariffTool
Overview
Note that 2023 trade data is provisional
Processing
Data source: Seafish
Reference: Seafish Processing Enquiry Tool
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/
seafish/viz/ProcessingEnquiryTool/
Overview
Retail data
NielsenIQ ScanTrack data to 52 week ending 30/12/2023; Reference - Monthly Retail Report 52
week ending (w/e) data to 30.12.23; Link to report on MI Portal; Seafish.Org link to retail page and factsheets.
One Bird’s Eye fish finger weighs 27g and is 9 cm long. With 44,031 tonnes of fish fingers consumed in 2023, this amounts to approximately 1.63 billion fish fingers. Their combined length totals 146,770 km, which is about 3.66 times the Earth's circumference of 40,075 km.
Foodservice data
Circana data to year end December 2023; Reference - 2023 Q4 NPD Data Sheet; Link to report on
MI Portal; Seafish.Org link to foodservice page and factsheets.