2018 Shetland Fisheries Statistics Published

2018 was a record year for whitefish landings in Shetland with just under 25,000 tonnes of cod, haddock, plaice, monks and other whitefish species, worth some £50 million, landed in the islands, the highest ever total.

'Shetland Fisheries Statistics 2018', published by the NAFC Marine Centre UHI, provides a detailed breakdown of fish and shellfish landings in Shetland and by Shetland fishing boats during last year, based on an analysis of official Marine Scotland fisheries statistics by Dr Ian Napier.

Overall, a total of 69,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish of all species, worth £88 million were landed in Shetland in 2018, an increase of 10% from the weight landed in 2017 and of 14% in value. Just under half of those landings were made by local fishing boats.

Shetland's prominent position in the UK fishing industry continued with more fish and shellfish landed in the islands than in any other port in the UK, except Peterhead, and more fish landed in Shetland than in all of England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.

The weight of whitefish landed in Shetland increased by more than one-sixth in 2018 and has more than tripled since the electronic fish auction was introduced to the local fish markets in 2003. Lerwick, Scalloway and Cullivoe were all in the top 12 UK ports for whitefish landings in 2018, and in the top-10 Scottish ports.

Shetland fishing boats landed about 111,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish in 2018, worth some £117 million.

The full report is available on the NAFC website at: www.nafc.uhi.ac.uk/fish-stats.

For further information please contact Dr Ian Napier (ian.napier@uhi.ac.uk, 01595 772000).