European Union fishing boats caught more than half of the fish landed from the United Kingdom’s Exclusive Economic Zone in recent years, and seven times more than UK boats caught elsewhere in EU waters.
Those are among the main findings of a detailed analysis of fisheries data contained in a report published today by the NAFC Marine Centre UHI in Shetland.
The analysis, carried out by NAFC's Senior Policy Advisor, Dr Ian R. Napier, estimated that from 2012 to 2014 fishing boats from other EU countries caught 58% of the fish and shellfish landed from the United Kingdom’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) each year, on average. That is some 650,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish, worth more than £400 million, each year. In contrast, UK fishing boats landed 90,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish, worth about £100 million, caught elsewhere in EU waters each year, on average.
The Exclusive Economic Zone is a sea area defined in International Law that extends up to 200 nautical miles (371 km) from the coast, within which a country is entitled to control the exploitation of fish and shellfish, as well as other economic resources.
The analysis used publically available data published by the European Commission and the UK's Marine Management Organisation (MMO). Among other findings were:
More than half of the megrim, plaice and saithe, three-quarters of the common (Dover) sole, hake, herring and skates and rays, 83% of the horse mackerel and 94% of the blue whiting landed from the United Kingdom’s EEZ by European Union fishing boats were caught by non-UK boats.
More than half (51%) of the fish and shellfish landed from the Scottish part of the UK EEZ was caught by non-UK boats.
Almost three-quarters (71%) of the fish and shellfish landed from the English, Welsh and Northern Irish part of the UK EEZ was caught by non-UK boats.
The full report is available for download here