A 5 percent decrease in the volume of fish landed by the United Kingdom's fishing fleet last year was mitigated by an equal increase in the average price per ton of product landed. But with fuel costs climbing by 20 percent, the sector’s operating profit fell by 4 percent, new data published by public body Seafish has found.
According to the latest Seafish Fleet Economic Performance figures, the fleet collectively achieved fishing revenues of GBP 978 million (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) in 2018, up by GBP 3 million (USD 3.9 million, EUR 3.5 million) compared to the previous year.
While the total catch volume fell from 720,000 metric tons (MT) in 2017 to 690,000 MT, the average landing price of GBP 1,422 (USD 1,856, EUR 1,657) per ton was the highest seen in the last decade. However, fuel costs reached more than GBP 0.50 (USD 0.65, EUR 0.58) per liter for the first time since 2014.
Consequently, the total fleet’s operating profit fell by GBP 8 million (USD 10.4 million, EUR 9.3 million) to GBP 268 million (USD 349.7 million, EUR 312.2 million).
“While the increase in the price of fuel has been substantial, it has been mitigated to some extent by the increase in average price per ton landed, meaning the U.K. fleet saw a slight increase in fishing revenues in 2018,” Steve Lawrence, economics project manager at Seafish, said. “In spite of the challenges and the undoubted uncertainties on the horizon it does appear that the catching sector is largely continuing with business as usual.”
The number of active fishing vessels in the U.K. fleet decreased from 4,709 in 2017 to 4,512 last year, with around 1,600 of these deemed “low-activity vessels” with fishing income of less than GBP 10,000 (USD 13,050, EUR 11,649) per annum.
