Fishing - pelagic quota cuts 2026: island communities impact assessment
Island communities impact assessment (ICIA) for the Scottish Government response to the consultation on pelagic quota cuts 2026.
Step Two – Gather Your Data and Identify Your Stakeholders
What data is available about the current situation in the islands?
All commercial fishing vessels are required to provide information to the Scottish Government on their fishing activities. This includes species caught, area of capture, type of fishing gear used, and port of landing. Given the number of vessels involved, this gives rise to a significant data set.
Below we present the total landings of the eight key species by vessels based in three island communities: Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles that vary in terms of the landing destination: within Scotland and outside of Scotland between 2020-2024. These eight species include pelagic, demersal and Nephrops.
| Area | Scotland
tonnes |
Scotland
value (£) |
Outside of Scotland
tonnes |
Outside of Scotland
values (£) |
Total Landings
tonnes |
Total Landings
values (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney | 14,345 | 30,246,519 | 102 | 244,452 | 14,447 | 30,490,970 |
| Shetland | 202,422 | 265,621,877 | 255,440 | 293,882,834 | 457,863 | 559,504,711 |
| Western Isles | 7,329 | 31,672,498 | 44 | 141,536 | 7,373 | 31,814,034 |
| Total | 224,096 | 327,540,89 | 255,587 | 294,268,821 | 479,683 | 621,809,715 |
Source: Marine Analytical Unit data: December 2025
*The eight key species include mackerel, herring, cod, haddock, monkfish, hake, whiting and Nephrops.
The figures above shows that vessels based in Shetland account for most landings from the three island areas assessed. In the period 2020–2024, Shetland-based vessels landed 202,422 tonnes into Scotland (around 90% of the 224,096 tonnes landed into Scotland across Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles) and 457,863 tonnes in total (around 95% of the total landings across the three areas).
This difference between volume and value reflects the species mix captured in the eight key stocks: mackerel and herring contribute high volumes but typically lower value per tonne relative to the other six species in the economic link basket (though in 2025 the position has changed markedly for mackerel), so areas with the greatest pelagic activity can account for a very large share of tonnage without accounting for an equivalent share of value.
The policy change will not directly impact any vessel based in Orkney or the Western Isles since no pelagic vessel, the fleet segment affected by the change, is based in either area.
Who are your key Stakeholders?
- Individual pelagic vessel owners
- Shetland Fish Producer Organisation
- Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation
- Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association
- Scottish Pelagic Processors Association Ltd
- Shetland Fishermen’s Association
- Denholm Fishselling
- Interfish
- International Fish Canners
- Klondyke Group
- Lunar Group (Producer Organisation, Fishing and Processing)
- Pelagia Shetland
- Northbay Pelagic Ltd
How does any existing data differ between islands?
The data used in modelling is of the same standard for all islands.
Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?
The Economic Link licence condition has an alternative method by which vessels can comply, rather than landing a fixed share of catch into Scotland. The alternative is that vessels may return quota to the Scottish Government in the following calendar year. The sum to be returned is assessed a portion (26%) of the value of the catch below the level which the vessel would have otherwise been required to have landed into Scotland to meet the landings threshold.