Misconceptions about the seafood industry are putting off young talent

Campaign developed by Seafish aims to help industry attract young jobseekers

The next generation see the seafood industry as low skilled and unexciting, leaving seafood businesses struggling to recruit fresh, young talent.

Seafish, the public body that supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, is calling for the industry to prioritise attracting young people to jobs in the sector, following research which highlighted a number of misconceptions that are currently putting them off.

To better understand attitudes and the barriers that exist, Seafish commissioned research to find out what young people (between the ages of 16 and 18) thought about careers in the seafood sector. The findings make for worrying reading as many of those who took part thought the industry only offered limited career prospects and that friends would make fun of them for working with fish.

The research has informed a new practical guide, designed to help seafood businesses understand what they can do to attract young people. It builds upon The World is Your Oyster campaign which Seafish launched in 2015 to appeal to young jobseekers and highlight the benefits of working in the seafood industry. Seafish is now encouraging seafood businesses to use the updated campaign materials to support recruitment. The free materials, which include a film, infographics and seafood career maps, are also available to schools and colleges.

There has been a recent push to shine the light on some of the inspirational young people already working in the industry through the Young Seafood Leaders Network, run by Seafish, and various industry awards for Young Fisherman of the Year, Young Seafood Chefs of the Year, Young Fishmonger of the Year and Young Fish Frier of the Year. However, the seafood industry is still struggling to attract young talent across the board. This impact of this is potentially even greater for pockets of the industry that rely quite heavily on EU labour with uncertainty around Brexit still on the horizon.

Marcus Coleman, CEO at Seafish, said: “We were already aware of some issues around attracting young jobseekers to seafood careers, but this research has highlighted the misconceptions and perceived barriers that we need to overcome to win over the next generation of talent. It includes a lot of valuable insights which we’ve used to inform a new practical guide for industry that’s full of recruitment advice.

“As a collective seafood industry, we need to shine a light on the positive stories and show young people that it’s possible to carve out an exciting and rewarding career. We need to shout about all the different jobs that are available and the fact that seafood careers can offer young people a chance to travel the world, to become a leader or own a business. With this in mind, we’ve also updated our The World is Your Oyster campaign materials and made them freely available to help get these key messages out.

“Our seafood industry is thriving but we can’t afford to be complacent - it’s vital that we attract young people who can bring so much energy and insight and keep it vibrant for years to come.”

Fishermen's representatives head for today's Discard Action Group meeting.

Today's Discard Action Group meeting is at Friends House in London and will run from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

Stay in touch with the meeting on Twitter using the hashtag #SeafishDAG

AM Compliance with the landing obligation

• Three months in - how is 2019 going? Mike Park, SWFPA and Jaswinder Kaur, Defra.
• MSC consideration of the Landing Obligation in fishery assessment. Tim Davies, Marine Stewardship Council. 
• Discussion between Government and the supply chain on evidencing full compliance with the LO. Jaswinder Kaur, Defra.

AM Ways to evidence, map and monitor compliance and aid spatial avoidance.

• Electronic monitoring as a compliance tool. Norman Fletcher, Marine Scotland.
• Norwegian use of reference fleets. Tom Clegg, Norwegian Marine Research Institute.
• Shetland Fishermen’s Association paper on reference fleets. Simon Collins, SFA.
• A new mapping app to identify discard hotspots. Julia Calderwood. Marine Institute.

PM Showcasing how far industry has come in improving selectivity.

• Overview of DiscardLess. Kenny Coull, SWFPA.
• Showcase/case studies of new selectivity devices and how they are being used. The session will include recent video footage and will be an opportunity to quiz the skippers themselves. We will have footage of David Milne, Jimmy Buchan, James Stephen and Paul Robertson.

Call for industry leaders to help shape Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme for small ports

Seafish is calling for industry leaders to help shape a new version of the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme (RFPS) for smaller ports, as Peterhead becomes the first large port to apply for RFPS certification.

Launched in July 2018, RFPS is a voluntary certified programme designed to demonstrate responsible food safety and good operational practices within UK fishing ports and harbours. The independently audited scheme has been developed with the UK seafood industry to raise standards across the fishing ports sector and is currently open for applications from large fishing ports with an auction or direct sale function.

Peterhead Port is the first fishing port to apply to be certified under the large ports scheme. Harbour Master John Forman said “In my capacity as Harbour Master at Peterhead Port, and on behalf of Peterhead Port Authority, I am delighted to support the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme (RFPS). The Port has applied to be audited to RFPS, which is ongoing. This bespoke certification for fishing ports and the fishing industry as a whole will implement standards in traceability, working practices, hygiene and health & safety. Peterhead Port Authority endorses RFPS and believes that this certification will benefit all of our customers and stakeholders in the seafood industry.”

The scheme's standards provide assurance to buyers and sellers of seafood that certified fishing ports are acting in a responsible manner with the seafood landed or sold through the market. 

Nicholas Donnelly of Young’s Seafood said, “As part of a modern food industry, Young’s Seafood places great value in the independent inspection and certification of our upstream supply chains. With the creation of a third party Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme, it is now possible for our UK caught products to be produced entirely within an independently audited and certified supply chain, offering greater business confidence for us, and an increased level of assurance for our customers.”

Following the launch of the large ports scheme, Seafish is now looking to develop a new version of the scheme for smaller ports. Industry leaders and representatives from small ports are invited to help by providing information about fishing port facilities and by joining a development committee which will steer the development of the small ports scheme to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The committee will also help to establish the assessment framework, which will be informed by the information gathered about facilities at small fishing ports.

Progress on collating information to support the development of the scheme is underway following a schedule of visits to small ports across the UK. Support for the scheme has been expressed by Tony Usher, Harbours Manager at Highland Council, and Kevin Quigley, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority, who have welcomed the initiative as a complement to the existing standard for large ports and indicated their willingness to become committee members to help steer the project and provide information to underpin the scheme’s development.

Marcus Jacklin, RFPS Project Manager, said: “In the process of creating the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme, it became clear that large and small ports each needed their own standard to ensure the scheme is fit for purpose and covers the requirements of all types of fishing ports and harbours in the UK.

“We are now pleased to be moving forward with the development of a standard which will give small ports an opportunity to apply for certification that acknowledges their responsible operating practices. We look forward to working with the small port sector and would encourage anyone who owns or manages a small fishing port in the UK and would like to help shape the scheme to get in touch.”

Further information about the RFPS is available on our website: https://www.seafish.org/article/responsible-fishing-ports-scheme

To find out more about getting involved in shaping the small ports scheme or applying for RFPS large port certification, contact Marcus Jacklin on marcus.jacklin@seafish.co.uk or 01472 252 340.

Funding for Safety Training

Funding may be available to support experienced commercial fishermen undertaking training to develop their knowledge, skills and qualifications above and beyond minimum legal requirements. A wide range of training can be supported, ranging from refreshing your basic safety training to undertaking a Deck or Engineer Officer Certificate of Competency.

Eligible Courses:

Funding is currently available to support a wide range of courses, including:

• New Entrant Training - our three-week Introduction to Commercial Fishing course is designed for people interested in starting a career in the fishing industry.
• Refresher Safety Training - this can be undertaken by experienced fishermen who completed their mandatory safety training more than three years ago. The courses cover sea survival, fire-fighting, first aid and safety awareness.
• Under 16.5m Skipper's Certificate – comprising short courses in Navigation/Bridge Watchkeeping, Engineering/Engine room Watchkeeping, Stability Awareness and GMDSS radio operation. Additional funding is also available for fishermen who already hold the Seafish Under 16.5m skipper's certificate to undertake further advanced courses.
• Certificates of Competency - grant support is available for experienced fishermen undertaking MCA (Fishing Vessel) Deck and Engineer Officer Certificates of Competency.
• Other short courses - other eligible courses may include a higher level GMDSS radio operator certificate, an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Approved Engineering Course (AEC) or Human Element Leadership and Management (HELM).
• Funding is only available for new entrants wanting to enter the fishing industry and experienced commercial fishermen who are fully compliant with Basic Safety Training requirements.

Funding Deadlines
Current deadlines for EMFF/MCA funding are as follows:

• England - 31 March 2020
• Scotland - 31 December 2019
• Northern Ireland - 31 March 2019
• Wales - 30 September 2019

Please note: Available funding is allocated on a first come first serve basis so funding up until the final dates cannot be guaranteed.

How to Apply

For refresher training or voluntary training courses towards our Under 16.5m Skipper’s Certificate, contact your local Seafish Approved Training Provider (ATP) and they will offer you the course free of charge, providing you satisfy the eligibility criteria. If you wish to undertake training with anyone other than a Seafish ATP, then you will have to fill out a training grant application. Funding for more advanced qualifications, such as a Certificate of Competency, can only be obtained by submission of a grant application form. See the Downloads section at the right of this page to download a copy of the grant application form.

Fishing Industry Safety Group survey - win £100 in vouchers!

https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=153786897361

There's only a few days left for you to help contribute to the Fishing Industry Safety Group's online survey - and a free entry into their draw.

You could win £100 in vouchers!

Wanted: Fishermen’s views on the best way to communicate safety messages.

This week sadly saw a timely reminder of just how important Health & Safety is on a commercial fishing vessel - and just as important is what to do if something goes wrong. 

In this instance a crew member of the well know Newlyn hake netter, Ajax had his hand severely damaged when it became trapped in deck machinery. The Newquay based SAR helicopter arrived at the vessel around 4am and in very challenging weather conditions eventually secured a high-line and diver aboard. The crewman was lifted off and flown straight to Derriford hospital in Plymouth where a team of surgeons worked for 9 solid hours on the crushed fingers.

Ajax skipper Alan Dwan has this to say about all those involved in the incident:

"I decided to put this pics up in a way to say thank you to Valentia Radio, Falmouth Radio, MCA coastguard, Derriford hospital and big thank you to all the NHS doctors and nurses with what they did to save Gary's fingers - from what they were like when we last them aboard the boat is amazing. The doctors said a big say in how much his fingers were saved by the great First Aid giving by his crewmates - leech treatment on fingers now to get blood flowing, operation on Monday again to do skin grafts, but what we saw when he left the boat was all fingers lost, what I saw yesterday is unbelievable, he a strong man very positive and will be fine as he has many friends and family around him"

From Seafish

Wanted: Fishermen’s views on the best way to communicate safety messages. If you're a Fisherman, the Fishing Industry Safety Group want to hear from you.


The Fishing Industry Safety Group* (FISG), a stakeholder group working to improve the safety of fishermen at sea, is conducting market research to gather insight into the best ways of communicating with fishermen. This research will be used to inform future safety campaigns, helping FISG reach as many fishermen as possible as they aim to help improve the safety record of the UK's fishing fleet.

FISG is asking vessel owners, skippers and crew to complete a short survey, which should take no more than seven minutes to complete, sharing their communication preferences - what they listen to, watch and read. The online survey is 100% anonymous and the findings will be used to create a comprehensive view of fishermen's communication preferences.

Any fisherman who completes the survey by 31 December 2018 can choose to provide their contact details and they will be entered into a prize draw to win £100 worth of vouchers for a number of high street and online retailers.

FISG brings together the fishing industry alongside representatives from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Seafish and other stakeholders to discuss the factors affecting fishing safety and identify ways to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and vessel losses.

Simon Potten, Head of Safety and Training at Seafish, said: "We want every fisherman to be aware of what the FISG is doing to help them work safely, whether it's information on the latest safety equipment, guidance on new safe working practices or information on what training opportunities are available to them. FISG works tirelessly to improve fishing safety, but struggles to engage with working fishermen. This research will help us understand where fishermen get their information, so that FISG safety messages can be communicated more effectively in future."

To complete the survey, please click here.

Seafood is the way forward - latest video from Seafish.

At Seafish we know that seafood is the way forward for business, the way forward for our communities, the way forward for the environment and the way forward for our personal health and wellbeing.

This film showcases the whole seafood industry from catch to plate; celebrating the many heroes of the seafood industry and the wonderful seafood available in the UK.

Presentations from the Discard Action Group meeting 10th October 2018.

The Discard Action Group is a forum for the discussion of industry-wide problems relating to discards.

The Discard Action Group (DAG) was set up by Seafish in 2009 in light of the many initiatives being adopted by the fishing industry to reduce discards. It is a prime example of an integrated, interdisciplinary, co-operative approach to the issue, and is the only UK cross-industry group addressing the discards issue from all perspectives.

The group is indicative of the whole seafood supply chain with representatives from the catching sector, environmental non-governmental organisations, legislators, regulators, technologists, scientists, retailers, foodservice and, where appropriate, the media. It is a key forum to allow individual interests to have a voice in the debate and to explore means by which discarding can be reduced to the minimum level practicable.

The group is chaired by Mike Park, Seafish Board member and Chief Executive, Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited. The group meets twice a year.

The Discard Action Group Terms of Reference can be read here.

All the presentations and minutes from DAG meetings are below. We have archived presentations from previous meetings and the minutes prior to 2013 but these are available from Karen Green.

The last meeting was on Wednesday 10 October 2018 in London. The presentations are below and the minutes will follow in due course. The next meeting will be in Feb/March 2019.

Seafish is undertaking a lot of work with regards to the introduction of the Landing Obligation (which will be introduced gradually, between 2015 and 2019 for all commercial fisheries (species under TACs, or under minimum sizes) in European waters. We are providing valuable services to industry and government and our coordination role in communicating about ongoing projects is limiting duplication of work. Key work areas for Seafish are: economic implications; gear selectivity; the Seafish Discard Action Group; briefings and guidance; outreach; a project to assess the impact of the LO on the UK supply chain; sectoral support; and marketing and communications.  See

For more information about the Discard Action Group contact Karen Green. To be added to the DAG mailing list to receive our monthly news update and details on the meetings please register here.

PDF versions of the presentations from 10 October 2018 meeting:

The landing obligation and the path to compliance. Barrie Deas, NFFO
Defra update on discard plans. Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, Defra
Impact of North East Atlantic Multi Annual Plans. Line Groth Rasmussen, DH MARE C1
Discards survival probabilities of flatfish and rays in North Sea pulse-trawl fisheries. VisNed/Cefas
REM scheme in the North Sea and scientific data collection. Martin Arris, Marine Management Organisation
Perspective on the introduction of cameras. Helen McLachlan, World Wildlife Fund
The Take Up of Selective Gears by Industry. Mike Montgomerie, Seafish
Overcoming Economic Barriers: The case for economic data collection. Ana Witteveen, Seafish

The Discard Action Group meets again today.

The Discard Action Group is a forum for the discussion of industry-wide problems relating to discards.

The Discard Action Group (DAG) was set up by Seafish in 2009 in light of the many initiatives being adopted by the fishing industry to reduce discards. It is a prime example of an integrated, interdisciplinary, co-operative approach to the issue, and is the only UK cross-industry group addressing the discards issue from all perspectives.

The group is indicative of the whole seafood supply chain with representatives from the catching sector, environmental non-governmental organisations, legislators, regulators, technologists, scientists, retailers, foodservice and, where appropriate, the media. It is a key forum to allow individual interests to have a voice in the debate and to explore means by which discarding can be reduced to the minimum level practicable.

The group is chaired by Mike Park, Seafish Board member and Chief Executive, Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited. The group meets twice a year.

The Discard Action Group Terms of Reference can be read here.

All the presentations and minutes from DAG meetings are below. We have archived presentations from previous meetings and the minutes prior to 2013 but these are available from E: Karen Green.

The last meeting was on Tuesday 13 February 2018 in London. The next meeting will be on 10 October 2018 in London.

Seafish is undertaking a lot of work with regards to the introduction of the Landing Obligation (which will be introduced gradually, between 2015 and 2019 for all commercial fisheries (species under TACs, or under minimum sizes) in European waters. We are providing valuable services to industry and government and our coordination role in communicating about ongoing projects is limiting duplication of work. Key work areas for Seafish are: economic implications; gear selectivity; the Seafish Discard Action Group; briefings and guidance; outreach; a project to assess the impact of the LO on the UK supply chain; sectoral support; and marketing and communications.  See

For more information about the Discard Action Group contact Karen Green. To be added to the DAG mailing list to receive our monthly news update and details on the meetings please register here 

A full breakdown of Seafish's involvement with the implementation of the Landing Obligation is here:

Landing Obligation

How to introduce the landing obligation is one of the most difficult issues facing the fishing industry under the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

In 2009 the Commission launched a wide-ranging debate on the way that EU fisheries are managed. The new CFP came into effect 1 January 2014. A key element of the reformed CFP is the progressive elimination of discards in EU fisheries through the introduction of a landing obligation. This is being introduced progressively from 1 January 2015.

This constitutes a new regime in European fisheries management and making this work for every part of the fleet will require a great deal more work - for both industry and government - to prepare to implement the landing obligation.

There are a number of documents and links below which explain generally what is meant by the landing obligation and the legislative framework, and the issues it is raising for the seafood industry.

General guidance

At EU and regional level

• Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF)
• North Sea Advisory Council
• North Western Waters Advisory Council
• Pelagic Advisory Council
• European Parliament Research Service briefing - Adapting EU fisheries to the landing obligation
• EU Guidance
• DiscardLess

Discard Atlases:

• Discard Atlas of North Sea Demersal Fisheries 2014
• Discard Atlas North Western Waters Demersal Fisheries 2014
• Discard Atlas North Western Waters Pelagic and Industrial Fisheries 2014

 General guidance at UK level:

• MMO/Defra
• Marine Scotland
• DAERA
• Welsh Government

We have also created a number of pages which look at more specific aspects of the implementation of the landing obligation.

• Pelagic Landing Obligation
• Demersal Landing Obligation
• Onshore Implications

Seafish Best Practice Guidance for Assessing the Financial Performance of Fishing Gear

Although there has been significant investment in new gear design, and research and analysis of gear effectiveness, very few studies have addressed the financial impacts of the Landing Obligation for vessel operators. Uncertainty surrounding the costs and benefits of gear modifications may make vessel owners reluctant to make gear changes due to potential losses in time and revenue during trial periods. Before gear modifications are adopted, it is important to assess the financial effectiveness of gear modifications to make sure fishing operations remain profitable with new gear.

Seafish has developed Best Practice Guidance for industry and scientist-led gear trials to help vessel owners choose the right gear for their business. Seafish has also developed a Financial Assessment Spread sheet for vessel owners and trial supervisors (to use alongside the Best Practice Guidance), to provide a straightforward, standardised way for users to collect, analyse and compare gear trial results and assess the financial effectiveness of fishing modifications.

Seafish Landing Obligation panel in Malta, February 2016.

Seafish facilitated a Landing Obligation panel at the Seaweb Seafood Summit in Malta on Monday 1 February 2016. The aim of this session was to share the impacts of the LO on fisheries and fishers and to describe some of the tools that have been developed to minimize any adverse impacts. The session was facilitated by Mike Park, Scottish White Fish Producers Association. There were three additional speakers: Liane Veitch, ClientEarth; Hazel Curtis, Seafish; and Helen Duggan, Seafish. The presentations can be downloaded below.

Seafish briefing notes can be found below. For further information contact Karen Green

Seafish Annual Plan 2018-19

Seafish have published their 2018-2019 Annual Plan. Reading the plan will give vessel owners, skippers and others a chance to focus and formulate any questions they may have about their futures.

Seafish currently have an online survey page that they hope will give them a much better picture of the state of the industry today. 

Everyone and anyone in the industry who feels they either have something to say or questions that they feel need asking should complete the survey:

Complete the survey by clicking the link here.

Vessel owners and skippers around the UK are being asked to participate in UK-wide research aiming to paint a clear picture of the performance of the fishing fleet.

Researchers from Seafish, the public body that supports the £10 billion UK seafood industry, will be travelling the length and breadth of the UK’s coastline gathering data on the financial and operational performance of the industry.

With a changing political environment, increasing weather variability and a public focus on sustainable and responsibly sourced seafood, researchers will canvas fishermen on how they see the industry, its future and the challenges they face.

There’s hope the 2018 Fleet Survey will reveal more positive news for the fishing industry after a strong performance in 2017 which saw total fishing income for UK vessels rising by £38 million. This was mainly driven by higher prices for many shellfish species.

Despite a rise in income, many fishermen highlighted the availability of fish, access to quota, fuel price, weather and other issues as potential threats to their businesses and their financial performance.

Read more: Icelandic Brexit boost as seafood relations look set to deepen with the Humber

The findings from the Fleet Survey, to be published in 2019, have the potential to influence policy and give an accurate insight into the health of the fishing industry. With the UK set to exit the EU next year, it is crucial skippers and vessel owners have their say on the state of the industry.

Steve Lawrence, Economics Project Manager at Seafish, said: “It’s vital we paint an accurate picture of the economic performance of the fishing industry and find out the biggest achievements and challenges fishers have met over the past year. This insight means we can keep all those involved in the sector fully informed on the health of the fleet. The report is also made available to policy makers and it is a good opportunity for fishermen to voice their opinion on the big issues affecting them.”

“We had a great response to last year’s survey, with over 400 skippers and vessel owners taking part. We hope to increase the number of people we speak to this year so that the insight we gather is as accurate as possible.

“We appreciate the continued support of the fishing industry across the UK and encourage all skippers and vessel owners to speak to our researchers. If we don’t hear from you then we aren’t able to promote your achievements and concerns to decision makers.”

Read more: One in five fish processing workers could be hit by hard Brexit - Seafish

All vessel owners can benefit directly from participation by requesting a free financial performance benchmark report which allows comparisons with the average performance of other similar vessels.

The survey is supported by the national federations and local associations around the UK. All information provided is treated as confidential and no individual vessel figures will be revealed in any report.

As well as the UK fleet report to be published next year, Seafish will publish its annual Quay Issues magazine later this year which includes stories and features gathered by the researchers as part of the survey.

Anybody interested in taking part in the survey should contact Steve Lawrence at Seafish on 0131 524 8663 or email steven.lawrence@seafish.co.uk. 

To view other opportunities for informing Seafish and the results of last year’s report, visit the Seafish website.

Seafood Cornwall Training newsletter January 2018.

The 6000th post on Through the Gaps

As of today, there have been 6000 posts and 1 million 567 thousand and 485 page views recorded for Through the Gaps!

That first post, on May 6th 2006 included a photo of Stevenson's beam trawler AA just after she came in 'Through the Gaps' of a Friday evening - at the time there was still a Saturday morning fish auction. At that time the CFP, quotas and other controls give fishermen cause for great concern over the viability of a future in fishing. The port was home to a large but drastically reduced fleet of mainly trawlers, beam trawlers and netters. 

At the time, restricting boats by introducing 'days at sea' controls and huge reductions in quotas were of greatest concern.

Since then, the fleet in Newlyn has shrunk further - but despite the huge changes the remaining skippers and owners have invested heavily in new or newer boats - only two of the 2009 netting fleet work from the port today.  The crab and sardine fleets seeing the most growth.

So it seems fitting to mark the occasion with a plea from one South coast fishermen that must surely be echoed by many other small and inshore boat owners and skippers in Cornwall and around the UK.

The latest gripe affecting the large in number but small in catching capacity in the grand scheme of things is, 'latent capacity' - that's bureaucratic gobbledygook for, "if you haven't fished for certain types of fish over the last few years then you won't be able to do so in the future'. In other words, if a fisherman has decided to change fishing method for a few years for whatever reason- often the sound economical principle of maximising his boat's ability to generate an income for him and his family - and then wishes to return to a previous method - he can't.

"When fishing licences were first issued it was your birth right to receive one, everyone at that time who was fishing was legally was entitled because it was your immemorial right or more commonly known these days as public right to fish. Stealing any of your licence rights to entitlement under the draconian guise of latent capacity capping is an affront to the legal laws that they had to be issue under. Nowhere in the licence has it ever stated that you may lose your entitlement... if its not used. Fishermen were not warned about latent capacity capping so as they may have done something about it.

This is a complete INJUSTICE by mindless men in suits. Why, this is why, my July pressure stock entitlement for the fish available to me in my area is Plaice 275 kg, and Skate and Ray 175 kg its not enough to cover the diesel.

All I can catch is NON PRESSURE STOCK SPECIES, which puts me on course for latent capacity capping. MMO why did you not allocate the quotas fairly in the first place? You are now killing off hard working fishermen, are you PROUD of how you are trying to manage our fisheries?"

275Kg of Plaice is roughly 9Kg a day and 175 of Ray is around 5.6Kg per day.

To give you some idea just how little fish that amounts to, above is a box with 7Kg of grey mullet - now compare that with what this seal steals and and eats in the space of 30 minutes from INSIDE a trawl 1200 feet down!

It is estimated that there are between 50-60,000 thousand seals that live and feed in our inshore waters. That is five times the number of fishermen in total (12,160 in 2013).  There is, however, no meaningful relationship that can be drawn between the number of fish taken by seals and the amount caught by fishermen - except, of course, when seals decide to eat the contents of a fishermen's nets...

Monk fish heads after seals have eaten the rest of their bodies taken directly form the nets in 100m of water..

Seafish's most recent overview of the fishing industry can be seen here: