Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2024
An Accredited Official Statistics publication that provides detailed information on the tonnage and value of landings, fishing vessel characteristics and employment.
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Sea fish and shellfish landings in 2024
The Scottish fishing industry value in 2024 was £756 million. This is the highest value (adjusted to 2024 prices) of the last ten years. Scottish fishing vessels landed 561 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish, the greatest tonnage of the last ten years. A summary of the headline numbers are:
- Scottish vessels landed 561 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish in 2024. An increase of 12 per cent compared to 2023 and an increase of 41 per cent compared to 2020.
- Scottish vessels landed £756 million of sea fish and shellfish in 2024. Adjusted to 2024 prices, this is an increase of five per cent compared to 2023, and of 31 percent compared to 2020.
- Scottish vessels landed 210 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish worth £207 million abroad in 2024. Landings abroad make up 37 per cent of tonnage and 27 per cent by value.
Performance of each sector
The value of the pelagic sector increased between 2023 and 2024, whereas the value of the shellfish and demersal sectors decreased. The changes for each sector were:
- The value of pelagic landings, adjusted to 2024 prices, increased by 17 per cent.
- The value of demersal landings, adjusted to 2024 prices, decreased by three per cent.
- The value of shellfish landings, adjusted to 2024 prices, decreased by seven per cent.
The 12 per cent increase in tonnage landed by Scottish vessels between 2023 and 2024 results from an increase in landings for the pelagic and shellfish sectors:
- Pelagic landings increased by 17 per cent.
- Shellfish landings increased by three per cent.
- Demersal landings decreased by one per cent.
Key species
- Mackerel remained the most valuable species in 2024 worth £286 million, making up 38 per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings.
- Haddock was the most valuable demersal species and represented six per cent of the total value of Scottish vessels’ landings.
- In 2024, 1,485 tonnes of creeled Nephrops were landed by Scottish vessels with a value of £17 million. 20 thousand tonnes of trawled Nephrops were landed worth £66 million.
The Scottish fishing fleet
The number of active Scottish vessels was 1,998 in 2024, a decrease of one per cent compared to 2015:
- The Scottish fleet is dominated by vessels that are 10 metres and under in length with a total of 1,525 vessels falling into this category in 2024. There are 473 over 10 metres vessels.
- Compared to 2015, the 10 metres and under fleet has increased by five per cent while the over 10 metres fleet has decreased by 16 per cent.
- The 26 over 40 metres Scottish vessels make up just one per cent of the number of vessels but landed 52 per cent of the value of all landings and 99 per cent of the value of pelagic landings.
Employment on Scottish fishing vessels
- In 2024, 3,735 fishers were working on Scottish vessels, down 48 fishers compared to 2023.
- Since 2015, employment on Scottish vessels has fallen 15 per cent.