A new report shows the UK fishing fleet saw record fishing revenues of GB£950m in 2017 with revenues rising by GB£14m since 2016.
According to Seafish’s Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet estimates, operating profit as a percentage of total income has remained at around 25%, similar to 2016, though the total fleet operating profit saw a 6% decrease from 2016.
Seafish senior economist Arina Motova, said: “For the second year running the UK fleet has recorded extremely strong figures.”
She stressed: “The last few years of strong economic performance put the fleet in the best possible position to respond to the upcoming challenges of full implementation of the EU landing obligation in 2019.”
Increased landings
The volume of landings increased by 10,000t, the highest annual value of landings on record in 2017 and the average price per tonne is the same as 2016, which was one of the highest on record.
The annual value of landings, both nominal and adjusted for inflation, was the highest recorded in the past 12 years. Volume increased by 10,000t, reaching 710,000t. The average price per tonne landed was £1,338, the same as in 2016.
The number of active fishing vessels increased in 2017 to 4,662, up from 4,637 in 2016. This was despite a 23% rise in marine fuel spend last year, with fuel spend now taking up 12% of total income, two per cent higher than the previous year.
An estimated GB£247m in sales revenue was generated last year, GB£16m less than in 2016.
