Over the next ten weeks, Seafish researchers will be travelling to ports around the UK and and surveying financial performance of fishing businesses and crew makeup.
The aim is to give vessel owners and skippers a platform to share how their businesses have fared in the last 12 months.
“By participating in this survey, vessel owners and skippers have the chance to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Juan Carlos Paredes Esclapez, economics project manager, Seafish.
“The data collected will be invaluable in informing policymakers, industry stakeholders and businesses themselves, ensuring the sector is well-equipped to navigate future challenges.
Fleet performance
The annual survey also helps Seafish to understand how issues such as fuel price increases are impacting the fishing fleet. Information can be used to inform policy changes that benefit the sector as a whole.
During last year’s fleet survey, 531 fishing vessel owners responded to the survey. Findings showed that when it came to business performance over the previous 12 months, 36% rated it poor or below average, 31% rated it average and 31% rated it above average or excellent.
On the outlook for business over the next 3 to 5 years, 29% rated it bad or very bad compared to 35% who rated it good or very good.
The most mentioned factors related to recent performance were stock status, prices for catch and operating costs due to the high fuel prices of 2022.
Fishing businesses taking part in the 2023 survey can request a free benchmark report.
This is a valuable tool for comparing the economic performance of their vessel to similar ones in the industry, allowing them to identify areas for potential improvement. These reports can also be used as evidence in grant or loan applications.
More information from www.seafish.org/fleetsurvey or email fleet.survey@seafish.co.uk
