Pelagic vessels from the United Kingdom landed 55,951 metric tons (MT) of mackerel worth EUR 50.7 million (USD 55.2 million) in the first seven months of this year, representing increases of 19 percent and 22 percent respectively, compared with the corresponding period of 2015.
Compared with January through July 2014, however, when the U.K. mackerel quota was significantly higher, the first-sales value and volume were down 46 percent and 30 percent respectively, highlights the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).
The average unit price for mackerel for January–July 2016 was EUR 0.91 (USD 0.99) per kg, a 3 percent increase year-on-year, with availability seeing prices fluctuating from EUR 0.79 (USD 0.86) per kg in January to EUR 2.87 (USD 3.12) per kg in May.
Mackerel’s average unit price in 2015 was EUR 0.87 (USD 0.95) per kg, down 12 percent compared with 2014.
For 2016, the U.K. mackerel quota is 208,000 MT, 15 percent less than last year. This total allowable catch (TAC) represents 47 percent of the EU’s total allocation.
The country’s top three ports in first-sales value for mackerel in January through July 2016 were Peterhead, Lerwick, and Fraserburgh, accounting for 50 percent, 31 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
The east Atlantic mackerel population, which is of particular importance to the U.K. fleet, spawns from March to April in the Mediterranean, from May to June off the south coast of England and in the North Sea, and from June to July in the Kattegat and Skagerrak. This typically results in almost no landings in the period March through July.
