Scotland’s Chief Statistician released figures on Thursday that show Scottish registered fishing vessels landed 393 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a gross value of £582 million in 2019.

This is a 12% decrease in tonnage and a 1% decrease in real terms value (adjusted for inflation) from 2018.

There were 2,098 active Scottish registered fishing vessels in 2019, an increase of 9 vessels from 2018 due to growth in the ten metre and under fleet.

The number of fishers working on these vessels was 4,886, which is up 1% on 2018.

Landings of shellfish species have seen an increase in both tonnage and value relative to 2018.

Tonnage caught increased by 17% to 62 thousand tonnes and real terms value increased 10% to £196 million.

Between 2018 and 2019, landings of mackerel decreased by 16% in tonnage and there was a 5% decrease in value.

Mackerel remained the most valuable species in 2019, representing 27% of the value of all Scottish vessels’ landings.