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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UK fishing vessels are required by law to be registered with the Registry of Shipping and Seamen (RSS), part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Fishing vessels must also have a licence that specifies conditions that must be adhered to. For the purpose of this publication, active vessels are those that are both registered and licensed as at 31st December of that year. Scottish-based vessels are those registered to a port in Scotland licensed and administered by a Scottish district. Each district contains a Marine Directorate Fishery Office which is responsible for administering the vessels and licences within that area. UK fishing vessel licences authorise the sea areas in which a vessel can fish and the species of fish that can be caught.
The capacity of fishing vessels in terms of gross registered tonnage and kilowatt engine power is also controlled through licences. With a finite amount of licence capacity in existence and no plans to make new capacity available, this restricts the total number and capacity of vessels in the UK fishing fleet. In order to licence new vessels, fishers must acquire existing licences from other previously licensed vessels. They also have the option of aggregating or disaggregating licence components to fit the requirements of the vessel in question.
4.1 The size of the Scottish fleet
The number of active Scottish based vessels has decreased to 1,998 vessels in 2024, a reduction of 8 vessels since 2023. 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, accounting for 76 per cent of the Scottish fleet. There are 473 over 10 metres vessels.
Chart 8. Creel fishing was the main fishing method for most, 797 of the 10 metres and under vessels.
Number of active Scottish vessels by main fishing method and length, 2024.
Data source: Table 47.
Chart 8 excludes active Scottish vessels that did not land any fish or shellfish in 2024, these are recorded as non fishing in the tables. In 2024, there were 478 non fishing vessels, 438 were 10 metres and under vessels.
The 10 metres and under fleet mostly fish using creels (sometimes called pots), which are traps in the form of cages or baskets, typically baited and used to catch shellfish. Creels catch some shellfish species such as crabs, lobsters and Nephrops, but other species like scallops are predominantly caught through dredging. Nephrops are also caught through trawling. In 2024, 52 per cent of the 1,525 10 metres and under vessels were fishing mainly using creels.
Of the 473 over 10 metres vessels, 67 per cent (318 vessels) mainly targeted shellfish, whilst 94 vessels (20 per cent) mainly targeted demersal species. Only 21 vessels mainly targeted pelagic species, with all 21 being trawlers. Creel fishing vessels and Nephrops trawlers form the majority of the over 10 metres shellfish group, whilst trawlers dominate the demersal group (Table 47). Compared to 2015, the 10 metres and under fleet has increased by 77 vessels (five per cent) while the over 10 metres fleet has decreased by 93 vessels (16 per cent).
Chart 9. The two vessel length categories with the largest total engine power in 2024 were the 10 metres and under vessels and the over 40 metres vessels.
Engine power (kilowatts) of Scottish vessels by length category, 2024.
Data source: Table 43.
The total engine power of the Scottish fleet has remained broadly consistent at 371 thousand kW. The average power for the over 10 metres fleet as a whole was 592 kW per vessel compared to 60 kW per vessel for the 10 metres and under vessels.
4.2 The performance of the Scottish fishing fleet
In 2024, Scottish fishing vessels landed 561 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a gross value of £756 million. Chart 10 shows the total value achieved by each length category as well as the split between demersal, pelagic and shellfish species landed.
Chart 10. The over 40 metres vessel length category had the highest value of landings. These vessels landed in total £393 million in 2024 with 98 per cent being pelagic species.
Value of fish and shellfish landed by Scottish vessels by length category, 2024.
Data source: Table 24.
The over 40 metres vessels are the large pelagic vessels which land the majority of the mackerel, Scotland’s most valuable species. The over 15 metres to 40 metres vessels catch a mix of different species whilst the 10 metres and under vessels mostly land shellfish. In 2024, the 10 metres and under Scottish vessels landed £57 million worth of fish and shellfish with 85 per cent being shellfish.
Chart 11. The over 40 metres Scottish vessels landed the highest value of fish and shellfish per vessel, landing an average of £15 million per vessel in 2024. This is well above the average of all vessels which was £379 thousand per vessel.
Average value landed per Scottish vessel (in thousands of pounds) by length category, 2024
Data source: Tables 24 and 41.
The 10 metres and under vessels landed below average, landing an average of just £37 thousand per vessel despite being the 4th most valuable length category. This is due to the fleet being made up of a large number of vessels which are restricted in the amount they can catch due to their size.