Despite cost pressures, labor shortages, and shifting trade dynamics, the U.K. seafood sector is showing renewed strength and adaptability, with exports, imports, and domestic consumption all on the rise, according to a new report.
The latest edition of “UK Seafood in Numbers,” published recently by public body Seafish, found that U.K. seafood export value grew 13 percent in 2024, reaching GBP 1.98 billion (USD 2.6 billion, EUR 2.3 billion), and 11 percent by volume, reaching 493,075 metric tons (MT).
Salmon and mackerel remained export powerhouses, accounting for the majority of overseas trade value at GBP 947 million (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) and GBP 163 million (USD 214.9 million, EUR 185.7 million), respectively. These totals were up 42 percent and 26 percent on 2023 totals.
Traditional destination markets such as the E.U., the U.S., and China continued to comprise the bulk of the market share, but demand from Asia expanded further – particularly for premium and value-added products.
The analysis also showed that amid rising domestic demand, imports also increased by 2 percent by value, topping GBP 3.8 billion (USD 5 billion, EUR 4.3 billion), while volume climbed 4 percent to 1.17 million MT.
Cod, tuna, and shrimp remained the most imported species, while China, Norway, and Iceland maintained their statuses as the country’s leading suppliers.
Seafish Head of Economics, Insight, and Advice Jennifer Robson said a particular area of interest gleaned from the report was that in 2024, trade barriers continued to impact E.U. commerce, including health certificates, border checks, and increased costs for U.K. exporters, alongside new sanitary legislation.
“The global trade environment remained volatile with geopolitical tensions around the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts and some uncertainty between the U.S. and China,” she said. “This resulted in tariffs and threatened trade flows, particularly for warmwater prawn exporters.”
Regarding domestic production, U.K. wild catch operations landed 716,000 MT of fish and shellfish worth GBP 1.15 billion (USD 1.5 billion, EUR 1.3 billion). Pelagic species made up the bulk of landings, with mackerel, herring, and haddock leading the way. Landings into U.K. ports jumped 3 percent by value during the year to GBP 828 million (USD 1.1 billion, EUR 943.1 million) on the back of 481,241 MT of products, which was an 8 percent increase.
“We’re not eating all of these,” Robson said. “The majority – particularly mackerel and herring – are exported. This is partly because we can economically benefit from these exports but also because we prefer to eat the salmon, prawns, haddock, and cod that we import from abroad.”
Overall, 2024 represented a “welcome return to business-as-usual” for the U.K. fishing fleet, with increases in fishing activity, income, and market prices, Robson added.
“We’re aware that access to labor for both the fleet and the processing sector remains one of the most challenging areas,” she said. “So, by no means was this a perfect picture, but it was a positive uplift from the years that had gone previously, particularly during the pandemic periods.”
Seafish calculated the fleet’s total turnover at almost GBP 1.19 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.4 billion) in 2024, while its operational profit totaled GBP 337 million (USD 444.4 million, EUR 383.8 million).
U.K. aquaculture operations, meanwhile, largely comprising salmon farming, contributed more than GBP 1.25 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.4 billion) in value and 185,883 MT in volume in 2024, marking decreases of 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, year over year.
Robson said that processing also remains a central pillar of the U.K. seafood economy, with 342 sites across the country.
In 2025, Seafish estimates that over 18,600 people are employed across 336 processing sites, with the slight drop in sites year over year largely being driven by a reduction in the number of small- and medium-sized operations due to increased automation and labor shortages, leading to consolidation from closures or mergers.
“[Processing] provides a significant amount of employment for many rural communities. However, there's a significant challenge presented by labor shortages and … increased production costs, particularly with spikes in energy prices,” she said.
As for domestic consumption in the U.K., seafood retail sales climbed 2.9 percent by value to GBP 4.65 billion (USD 6.1 billion, EUR 5.3 billion) in 2024, with volume rising 2.4 percent to 410,157 MT. Leading most of the growth was chilled fish, which accounted for 63 percent of sales by value and 45 percent by volume. The frozen category comprised 23 percent and 33 percent of sales, respectively, and ambient products were responsible for 14 percent and 22 percent of sales, respectively.
“We're always pleasantly encouraged when the proportion of chilled fish being purchased increases because that means consumers are scaling up within the sector – moving out of ambient and frozen and back into chilled fish. That’s usually an early indicator of an upturn in people increasing the amount of seafood they consume or place in their baskets,” Robson said.
At the same time, U.K. seafood consumption in foodservice grew by 5.2 percent by volume and 8.7 percent by value to 145,507 MT and GBP 6.4 billion (USD 8.4 billion, EUR 7.3 billion), respectively, boosted by pubs, travel catering, and workplace dining.
“This is an area that really suffered during the pandemic with hospitality closures, and it's taken a while to recover, but 2024 was much more positive for foodservice and we're starting to see consumers returning to eating out of home and eating in different places,” she said.
