UK Fish Landings in Global Terms

UK fishing boats landed some 700,000 tonnes of marine fish and shellfish in 2018. That was less than 1% of the global total and ranked the UK 25th in the world for landings. It is estimated that if UK boats had caught a substantial proportion (84%) of the fish and shellfish landed from the UK exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 2018 their landings would have been well over twice what they actually were, and the UK would have ranked 13th in the world for landings, even if UK boats were unable to catch any fish elsewhere in the EU EEZ.
Examination of long-term trends shows that landings by UK fishing boats generally declined over the last seven decades, falling by 50% between 1952 and 2008. Despite a small recovery since, then landings by UK boats remain well below what they were in the 1950s. As a result, the UK’s share of global fish landings fell from 6% to below 1% and its world ranking for landings from 6th to 25th.
In contrast, landings by other EU member states’ fishing boats increased substantially (more than doubled) during the 1950s and 1960s. Although they decreased significantly after the 1980s their landings in 2018 remained almost 50% greater than they were in 1950.