Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme Annual Report (2024): Herring - Mackerel - Blue whiting

The Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme (SPISDCP) is a
collaboration between the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, UHIShetland and the Marine Directorate of the Scottish government. Within the programme, crews onboard Scottish pelagic fishing vessels undertake sampling of their catches in two ways: self-sampling, whereby vessel crews measure the length and weight of a sample of fish in the catch; and co-sampling, whereby crews collect frozen samples of fish for scientists onshore to carry out biological sampling of length, sex, maturity and ageing. This report provides a summary of the data collected across the herring, mackerel and blue whiting fisheries, from the start of data collection in July 2018, up to the latest collation of data in December 2024, and is intended as an overview of the current dataset to date.