Fishing data and insight
In 2023 there were 3,889 active fishing vessels in the UK. There were 6,532 people working on those fishing vessels (Full Time Equivalent jobs).
In 2023 turnover of the UK fishing fleet was £1,075 million. Operating profit was £256 million.
Fishing fleet around the UK
24% of the landings by the UK fleet (by value) were made abroad. 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 income.
More information on the UK catching sector is available in our annual Economics in the UK Fishing Fleet report. It presents economic estimates at UK, home nation and fleet segment level for the UK fishing fleet. You can get a copy of the latest report from the link below:
To access reports from previous years, please search for 'Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet' by using the search tool at the top of this webpage.
Our latest Employment in the UK Fishing Fleet report presents a snapshot from a sample of 406 vessels and 927 workers from across the UK catching sector. This data is taken from a survey in summer 2024.
Key findings from the report are:
- Overall, most workers in the sample (86%) were from the UK.
- Most non-UK workers were from the Philippines, Ghana and Latvia and employed as deckhands. They were mainly employed on over 10m demersal trawlers and scallop dredgers.
- The average age of employees sampled was 44, four years older than the average of the sample collected in 2021. Deckhands were, on average, the youngest workers in the sample, with an average age of 37. The average age of vessel owners was 51, and of hired skippers, 40.
- Most workers in the sample (99%) were male. There were seven female workers in the sample which was one less than in the 2018 sample.
- Over 62% of the skippers and 58% of the owners working on board held a professional skipper qualification. The most common professional qualification held by deckhands was Basic Safety Training.
- The most common work pattern of on-board workers in the sample was full-time, all year-round work (83%).
- Most UK and EU workers in the sample were paid by crew share (84% and 63% respectively). Among workers from outside the UK, the most common remuneration methods were fixed salaries and agency contracts (81%).
You can download a copy of the full report, which also includes data on qualifications held and remuneration methods, from the link below.
Access to Labour in fishing sector survey 2023
Between 8th and 21st of March 2023 Seafish run an additional online survey of fishers that been shared through the social media and industry representatives. The purpose of the survey was to collect in-depth knowledge about the labour market and in particular the measures implemented by the sector to date to overcome labour shortages. Survey findings were used to inform submissions to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) consultation at the end of May 2023.
Key findings from the survey are:
- Survey covered 102 responses representing 201 fishing vessels and 1330 crew.
- Majority of crew employed on UK vessels are UK/Irish nationals.
- Vessels over 10m using mobile gear are more reliant on non-UK labour.
- 30% of crew covered by the sample are operating under a transit visa.
- Recruitment challenges exist with a majority reporting that they struggle to recruit, and have open vacancies for long periods of time
- A variety or recruitment methods are being used to attract crew. The most common are: word of mouth, online advertising and crewing services.
- Majority of respondents (61%) reported issues with trying to hire local crew, related to factors that local people don’t want to work in the industry and local people are not reliable. Respondents that reported issues hiring crew represented bigger multiple vessels owning companies and covered 86% of crew represented in the sample
- Confidence in the ability to hire and retain crew was low
- A number of key skills were reported to be in short supply including handling and repairing gear, and seamanship.
You can download a copy of the full report from the link below:
The total fish and shellfish landed in the UK is caught by domestic and foreign vessels. In 2022, a total of 411 thousand tonnes was landed with a value of £757 million.
By weight, the top species landed in the UK by domestic and foreign vessels in 2023 were:
- Mackerel (106,533 tonnes)
- Herring (46,833 tonnes)
- Haddock (38,397 tonnes)
- Nephrops (27,402 tonnes)
- Blue whiting (26,877 tonnes)
By value, the top species landed by the UK fleet by domestics and foreign vessels in 2023 were:
- Mackerel (£132 million)
- Nephrops (£111 million)
- King scallop (£60 million)
- Cod (£45.2 million)
- Monks or anglers (£44.9 million)
Fleet Enquiry Tool
Our Economics team have captured summary data on the size, structure and economic performance of the UK catching sector and plotted it in a Tableau Fleet Enquiry Tool. You can access this online tool from the link below:
If you’d like to find out more about how to use the tool you can watch our fleet enquiry tool video tutorial below:
Multi annual UK fishing fleet estimates
This spreadsheet is a dataset presenting the annual economic performance for the UK fishing fleet. You can download a copy of the latest dataset from 2012 to 2022 from the link below:
UK Economic Fleet Estimates and Fleet Enquiry Tool methodology report
This report is a supporting document for the Seafish Fleet Enquiry Tool to the UK Economic Fleet Estimates and Seafish Fleet Enquiry Tool. It presents the data collection and estimation procedure methodologies we use to report on the size, structure and economic performance of the UK catching sector. You can download it from the link below:
Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from UK Fishing Fleet
This report presents a new approach to estimate daily fuel consumption from the UK Fishing Fleet, and therefore emissions, by vessel characteristics. The coefficients are calculated based on samples of fuel records between 2017 and 2022 gathered by Seafish as part of the Annual Fleet Economic Survey. Download the report and accompanying data from the links below:
Quay Issues
Quay Issues is our annual magazine, exploring the stories behind the data. It looks at the challenges facing the fishing industry and showcases creative and innovative ways that the UK fleet are finding to make the industry more sustainable, efficient and safe.
Some of the stories from the latest edition are:
- Ain’t no Party like a Scallop Party
- Planning the future of UK Fisheries
- First Aid Guide with Crew Safety in Mind
- Spurdog Millionaire
- Staying Afloat with Family
- REM in the UK Fishing Fleet
You can browse or download the latest issue from the links below:
Earlier editions of Quay Issues are available from the links below:
We collect economic data on the UK commercial fishing fleet annually. The employment data is collected every three years. Data is gathered by surveying skippers and vessel owners over the summer. It is then analysed and reviewed along with additional accounts information provided at the end of the financial year. In some reports we also refer to other data sources, such as landing statistics provided by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
You can find out more about our annual survey of the fishing fleet from the link below:
Contact us
If you’d like further information on any of our fishing fleet data please contact our Economics team by emailing economics@seafish.co.uk.
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