The industry authority on seafood published its 2014 Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet report at the opening day of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET) 2016 conference.
According to the data, operating profit also increased significantly. The total UK fleet operating profit was estimated at £216 million in 2014, a 54 per cent increase from the previous year. An estimated £157 million of net profit was generated in 2014 equal to 17 per cent of total income.
The large increase in the total income of UK fleet from recorded landings was mainly due to an increase in the weight of pelagic species landings. In 2014, the average prices for demersal and shellfish species both increased by 12 per cent. The reduction of the fuel price has also contributed to the improvement of the economic performance.
However, provisional estimates for 2015 show total fishing income decreasing by 11 per cent to £772m. This has been driven by the impact of the Russia’s EU trade ban on the pelagic sector and the subsequent decrease in the average mackerel price.
Arina Motova, Senior Economist at Seafish, said: “This is a positive picture for most of the UK’s fishing fleet even though the total 2015 estimates are more conservative.
"Our forecast shows that all UK fleets benefited from the oil price reduction and the economic performance indicators of most fleets show an improving profitability picture, despite challenges such as the Landing Obligation coming into effect for some fisheries.”
