Landings by Scottish based vessels
Shellfish landings made up 39 per cent by value and 17 per cent by volume of all landings by Scottish-based vessels in 2008, with a total value of £155 million for 65,000 tonnes landed.
Demersal species made up 35 per cent by value and 27 per cent by volume, with a total value of £139 million for 100,000 tonnes landed. This represents an increase of about £10 million (7 per cent) compared with 2007.
Pelagic species made up 26 per cent by value and 56 per cent by volume, with a total value of £101 million for 207,000 tonnes landed. This represents an increase of about £10 million (12 per cent) compared with 2007.
Nephrops remained the most valuable species to the Scottish fleet, with a total value of over £90 million. However, as prices per tonne dropped by five per cent compared with 2007, this value represents an annual decrease of around £10 million from £100 million in 2007. The decrease in the value of nephrops landed resulted in a fall of about £10 million (five per cent) in the value of overall shellfish landings.
The volume of mackerel landings by Scottish vessels remained steady compared with 2007 but prices per tonne increased, leading to an increase in the total value of 22 per cent to £86 million in 2008. Mackerel is the second most valuable species to the Scottish fleet.
Between 2007 and 2008 there was a 36 per cent increase in the volume of landings made abroad by Scottish vessels. At an estimated £53 million, the value of all landings abroad by Scottish vessels in 2008 was £13 million (33 per cent) higher than in the previous year. This increase therefore accounts for the overall increase of £12 million between 2007 and 2008 in the value of landings by Scottish vessels.
Scottish fishing fleet
The number of active fishing vessels based in Scotland increased from 2,191 at the end of 2007 to 2,205 at the end of 2008.
Since 2000, the number of over 10m vessels has decreased by 25 per cent, reflecting the impact of two decommissioning schemes in 2001 and 2003 which awarded grants to owners in the Scottish whitefish fleet to decommission their vessel and surrender their fishing licence. The reduction in number since 2000 is 337 vessels (13 per cent).
The demersal sector has reduced in size steadily since 2000 by a total of 174 vessels (37 per cent). The pelagic sector has also declined by 37 per cent over this period from 38 to 24 vessels, but has grown slightly since 2006 when there were only 21 vessels in the pelagic fleet.
There are currently 1,492 vessels in the under 10m fleet, a net reduction of 101 vessels (six per cent) since 2000 but only two vessels less than in 2007.
Employment
The number of fishermen employed on Scottish fishing vessels at the end of 2008 stood at 5,448, an increase of under one per cent on the figures for the previous year.
Fish Quota Uptake
Uptake of quota was high for the major pelagic fish stocks; just under 100 per cent for West of Scotland Mackerel, North Sea Herring and West of Scotland Herring, and close to 90 per cent for North Sea Mackerel.
Quota uptake was just over 70 per cent for West of Scotland Nephrops and just below 80 per cent for North Sea Nephrops.
Quota uptake was nearly 100 per cent for six of the most important demersal stocks, namely North Sea Cod, West of Scotland Cod, North Sea Whiting, North Sea Saithe, North Sea Plaice and West of Scotland Monkfish. Uptake of North Sea Monkfish was 95 per cent. Uptake of North Sea Haddock was over 80 per cent but only 32 per cent for West of Scotland Haddock.
Marine Scotland’s sea fisheries database (FIN) holds details of, among other things, all fish landings into Scotland and landings abroad by Scottish based vessels. Voyage information is supplied by skippers who are required by EU legislation to maintain logbooks. Data on landings is provided by fish sellers under similar EU legislation. Information is collated and entered at port offices and then transmitted to the FIN central server in Pentland House, Edinburgh. DEFRA maintains a similar system for landings into England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as landings made by EWNI vessels abroad.
Data on employment within the Scottish fishing fleet is collated by Marine Scotland in an annual survey distributed to port offices in each Scottish fishing district.
The Sea Fisheries Data Team will regularly update certain management information such as levels of quota uptake and fish prices on their web site – see link below.
National statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff.
