Shetland boats landed more fish in 2021

THE SIGNIFICANCE of the local fishing industry has again been highlighted in the latest landing statistics provided by Dr Ian Napier of UHI Shetland.

According to his detailed breakdown of landings by Shetland-based fishing boats, 112,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish worth £110 million were brought ashore in 2021.

This represents an increase in weight of 20 per cent from the previous year (or five per cent by value).

As in previous years more fish and shellfish has been landed in the islands than in any other UK port except Peterhead.

More fish was landed in Shetland in 2021 than in all of England and Wales, and Lerwick, Scalloway and Cullivoe were all in the top 15 UK ports for whitefish landings.

Dr Napier’s analysis is based on newly released data from the Scottish and UK governments.

The senior fisheries policy advisor’s report shows that Shetland boats caught substantially more pelagic fish in 2021, especially blue whiting but also mackerel and herring.

Although they caught slightly less whitefish (species such as cod, haddock, monks and flatfish) overall in 2021 the total value of Shetland boats’ landings of these species was slightly higher.

While their landings of some whitefish species such as cod fell due to quota cuts, those of species such as monk and ling increased substantially.

Despite the increased landings by local boats, the overall quantity of fish and shellfish landed in Shetland fell slightly in 2021 to about 49,000 tonnes worth £70 million.

This reflected decreases in the quantities of both pelagic fish and whitefish landed in the islands. The fall in whitefish landings was almost entirely due to a substantial decrease in the quantity of whitefish landed by foreign (especially French) and English fishing boats that formerly landed their catches in Shetland for shipment south.

Meanwhile, the quantity of shellfish landed in Shetland, virtually all of it by local boats, was slightly higher in 2021 although their total value was slightly lower.

Dr Napier said: “The report provides a detailed picture of landings in Shetland and by Shetland boats in 2021.

“Although the overall quantity of fish and shellfish landed in Shetland was slightly lower than in 2020 much of that decline was due to external factors, such as landings by foreign boats, while the Shetland fleet increased its landings overall.”

There is little evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on fish landings in Shetland or by Shetland boats, except perhaps on prices of shellfish, he added.

The full report is available on the UHI Shetland website here.

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