According to the statistics 370 thousand tonnes of fish were caught by Scottish vessels last year with a value of £380 million. It is said that the figures which is based on data collected before the recent rise in fuel prices. The statistics show that the value of shellfish landings increased by 13 percent in real terms to £163 million and the volume also increased by 13 percent to 67 thousand tonnes.
It is noticed that high value shellfish landings formed 18 percent of the total by weight but 42 percent by value, making shellfish the most valuable sector to the Scottish fleet. It is also said that the value of demersal landings decreased by 8 percent in real terms to £130 million and the volume of landings decreased by 5 per cent to 89 thousand tonnes.
Demersal landings made up 34 percent of the total value and 24 per cent of the total volume.
The statistics show that the 2007 pelagic landings have been affected by the repayment arrangements agreed with the Commission for historic undeclared landings of herring and mackerel. The volume of pelagic species landed decreased by 5 per cent to 213 thousand tonnes. UK Quota uptake reached 90 per cent or more for four of the most important demersal stocks. Quota uptake was greater than 80 percent for WS Cod, NS Whiting and NS Nephrops, and greater than 70 percent for NS Haddock and WS Nephrops.
