Provisional Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2025

Sea fish and Shellfish landings in 2025

The Provisional Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2025 show that:

• Scottish vessels landed 509 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish in 2025. A decrease of four per cent compared to 2024 and an increase of 12 per cent compared to 2016, ten years ago.
• Scottish vessels landed £960 million of sea fish and shellfish in 2025. Adjusted to 2025 prices this is an increase of 27 per cent in the ten years from 2016 to 2025, and an increase of 26 per cent compared to 2024.

Performance of each sector

• The pelagic sector landed value, adjusted to 2025 prices, increased by 52 per cent from 2024, to £582 million in 2025. However, live weight of pelagic landings decreased by eight per cent from 2024, to 354 thousand tonnes in 2025.
• The demersal sector landed value, adjusted to 2025 prices, increased by four per cent from 2024, to £204 million in 2025. The live weight of demersal landings increased by three per cent from 2024, to 97 thousand tonnes in 2025.
• The shellfish sector landed value, adjusted to 2025 prices, decreased by four per cent from 2024 to £174 million in 2025. The live weight of shellfish landings increased by 10 per cent from 2024, to 58 thousand tonnes in 2025.

Key species

• Mackerel remained the most valuable species in 2025 worth £497 million, making up 52 per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings. Adjusted to 2025 prices, this is an increase of 68% in the value of mackerel compared to 2024. This is due to a large price increase, as the tonnage of mackerel landed decreased by five percent compared to 2024, to 182 thousand tonnes. Of the total weight of mackerel landed by Scottish vessels, 55 per cent was landed into Scotland and 45 per cent was landed abroad.
• Haddock, worth £49 million in 2025, was the most valuable demersal species and represented five per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings.
• Nephrops (Norway lobster or Langoustine) were the most valuable shellfish species in 2025 and represented nine per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings. 21 thousand tonnes were landed by Scottish vessels with a value of £83 million.

Scottish fishing vessels and employment

• The number of active Scottish vessels was 1,993 in 2025, a decrease of 5 vessels from 2024. Of these, 19 vessels over 10 metres mainly target pelagic species.
• In 2025, 3,738 fishers were working on Scottish vessels, a similar number to 2024 (3,735).

UK Quota Uptake

In order to manage key commercial fish stocks sustainably, a limit, known as total allowable catch, is placed on the amount of certain fish species that can be caught in particular areas each year. The UK’s share of this is divided up between eligible vessels and the catch, or quota uptake, is monitored to ensure it remains within agreed limits. The UK’s share can be adjusted in-year and therefore may not be equal to the actual total allowable catch share. Quota uptake varies considerably by species and sea area. UK Quota uptake for some of the key species in 2025 was:

• Mackerel quota uptake was 99 percent in the West of Scotland and 91 percent in the North Sea.
• Quota uptake for Nephrops, the only shellfish species subject to quota, varied from 76 per cent in the West of Scotland to 85 per cent in the North Sea.
• Haddock quota uptake varied from 24 per cent in the West of Scotland 6a, 5b to 53 per cent in the North Sea.