• In 2008, consumers in Great Britain bought over 385,000 tonnes of fresh, frozen and canned seafood at retail outlets (worth over £2.73 billion), representing a value increase of 4%. Volume sales were flat over the same period.

• The overall UK seafood market, including restaurants, fish and chip shops etc. was worth £5.4 billion in 2007, and is steadily growing.

• The UK is becoming increasingly reliant on imports. Import volumes have increased by 46% from 1998 to 2008.

• Around £2.2 billion worth of seafood was imported in 2008 and the UK exported £1.0 billion in seafood products mainly to Continental Europe.

• Supplies of seafood to the UK can be divided into five categories:
o Landings by UK vessels
o Aquaculture
o Fresh and chilled imports
o Frozen imports
o Other – including cured, prepared/preserved, live, meals and flours

• The UK fishing industry employs 12,729 fishermen working on 6,763 vessels. In 2007 the UK fleet landed 610 thousand tonnes of fish (including shellfish) worth £645 million into the UK and abroad. Compared with 2006, this is a fall of 1% in quantity but an increase of 6% in value.

• Aquaculture = fish and shellfish farming. Shellfish species farmed in the UK include mussels, oysters, clams, scallops and queenies. (Note: salmon is not a marine finfish. For more information about salmon farming visit www.scottishsalmon.co.uk).

• There are around 280 ports, harbours and creeks around the UK where fish is landed. The major fishing ports in the UK in terms of value of fish landed are, Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Lerwick.

• There are around 480 processing sites employing around 15,000 people.

• The food service sector covers a range of outlets including fish and chip shops, canteens, hotels, restaurants and education. Fish and chips dominate this sector.

• There are around 10,000 fish and chip shops all over the UK. These shops sell 276 million portions of fish and chips each year.

• The most popular species of seafood in retail is salmon – in 2008 consumers spent over £589 million on it. Other favourite species include cod, tuna, haddock and prawns.

• Cod still accounts for 12% of total GB retail consumption. Most of our shellfish is transported to continental markets, and prawns now account for 12% of GB consumption.

• 10 species account for 74% of all the seafood sold in the GB retail market.

• Seafood can be divided into three separate categories:

• Demersal – whitefish including cod, haddock, plaice, whiting, pollack, saithe (coley), hake, monk/anglerfish, dover sole, lemon sole, megrim, witches, brill, turbot, halibut, dogfish, skates, rays, John Dory, bass, ling, catfish, redfish.

• Pelagic – oil-rich fish including herring, mackerel, pilchard, sprat, horse mackerel, whitebait, tuna.

• Shellfish:
o Molluscs including scallops, oysters, cockles, mussels, winkles.
o Crustacea including nephrops (scampi, langoustines), crabs, lobsters, crawfish, shrimps etc.
o Cephalopods including octopus, squid, cuttlefish.