Fishing industry in 2023 statistics published
Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has published its annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics 2023.
The publication is a summary of:
- The UK fishing fleet
- Its activity at sea
- Landings – how much fish they catch and land
- Effort – how long they spend at sea
- Trade
Key statistics include:
| Fleet | In 2023 there were 5,418 UK registered fishing vessels. This represents a 54% reduction since 1993. The power (kW) of the UK fleet has also decreased by 42% over the past three decades. Gross Tonnage (GT) has decreased by 37% since 1996 when recording of this metric began, to 200 thousand tonnes. Approximately 79% of the UK fleet is represented by vessels under 10 metres in length, of which 49% are administered in England. The majority of UK vessels operate within the non-sector (87%) with the remaining vessels in membership of a Producer Organisation. |
| Landings | In 2023, UK vessels landed 719 thousand tonnes of sea fish with a value of £1.1 billion. Compared to 2022, this is an increase of 12% in quantity and an increase in value of 5%. The increase in value is mainly driven by the increase in landings, although of lower value fish. Landings into the UK by foreign vessels in 2023 was 19 thousand tonnes, which compared to 2022 represents a 6% increase. Landings abroad by UK vessels increased 13% to 279 thousand tonnes. |
| Effort | Since 2005, fishing effort (kW days at sea) by the over 10 metre fleet has decreased by around 34%. Most of the reduction in effort is driven by a 34% decline in effort in the demersal trawl and seine segment. Fishing effort (kW days at sea) by the over 10m fleet increased by 1% between 2022 and 2023. |
| Trade | The UK is a net importer of fish. The UK’s crude trade gap (imports minus exports) in 2023 for sea fish is 274 thousand tonnes. This is smaller than 2022, where the gap was 316 thousand tonnes. In 2023 the UK imported 611 thousand tonnes of sea fish, with a value of £3.5 billion. It exported 336 thousand tonnes, with a value of £1.7 billion. |
The Sea Fisheries Statistics 2023 is the first MMO statistical release to be published after the temporary suspension of the accredited official statistics designation. The temporary action was confirmed on 3 December 2024, following a request from the MMO Chief Statistician to the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).
We remain committed to making the Sea Fisheries Statistics data available, with additional guidance for users about how to make best use of these data. These statistics remain the best available data and are still considered a reliable measure of industry activity at an overall (UK) level.
You can find more information on this on Gov.uk: UK Sea Fisheries Statistics: temporary suspension of the accredited official statistics designation
View the full report, tables and underlying datasets at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sea-fisheries-annual-statistics
Contacts:
Tel: 0300 123 1032
Email: media@marinemanagement.org.uk