The value of fish landed by Scottish vessels increased by £47 million (€55.2 million/$68.6 million) to £433 million (€508.7 million/$632 million) last year, according to the latest official figures.
This 12% increase was driven by a steep rise in the value of mackerel, now the most lucrative species to the Scottish fleet and worth about £135 million (€158.6 million/$197 million) a year.
The volume of fish landed by Scottish boats also rose to 377.8 tonnes in 2009 from 371.5 tonnes the previous year.
Fisheries minister Richard Lochhead said the figures underlined the importance of fishing to Scotland's rural economy.
"The Scottish fleet brought in more than £440 million in 2009, which illustrates the industry and the Scottish Government's determination to retain a viable industry even while working within a broken Common Fisheries Policy,” said Lockhead.
"And while a 12% increase is laudable, we should not overlook that the price for many of the main species, cod, haddock and nephrops for example, dropped in 2009 compared with the previous year and the cost of fuel increased.
"This demonstrates that, as important as this industry is to Scotland, it remains vulnerable to market forces and the health of the marine environment, let alone the policy of the day."
The industry landed £143 million (€168 million/$208.7 million) -worth of shellfish making up just under a third (32%) of the value of landings last year.
Demersal species, such as cod and haddock, accounted for around a third (34%) of the value of fish landed and were worth about £149 million (€175.1 million/$217.4 million), with about 104,000 tonnes caught.
This was around half of the 205,000 tonnes of pelagic fish caught last year, such as mackerel, herring and blue whiting. The overall value of pelagic species jumped from £101 million (€118.7 million/$147.3 million) in 2008 to £151 million (€177.4 million/$220.3 million) last year.
In 2009 the number of boats in the Scottish fleet fell by 31 to 2,174 on the previous year.
[Source: The Scotsman]
