Local harbours to be part of annual Fishing Fleet survey

Each year researchers spend time with skippers and vessel owners to collect information on business performance, investment, employment, fuel use and other pieces of insight into the current challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

This year they will be in Yorkshire between August 17-21, August 24-28 and finally between August 31 and September 4 when they will visit as many ports and harbours as possible.

Seafish, the public body that supports the UK’s seafood sectors, is the only organisation that collects a comprehensive set of financial data from across the UK fishing fleet in this way.

The information gathered underpins the organisation's Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet report Fleet Enquiry Tools dataset.

This report and data set provide valuable evidence to help policymakers, industry bodies and stakeholders better understand the economic health of the fleet and inform future decision-making.

Juan Carlos Paredes Esclapez, economics project manager at Seafish, said: “The Fishing Fleet Survey provides one of the most comprehensive pictures of the UK's fishing industry’s business performance, and every interview helps strengthen the evidence we can provide to support the sector.

“By taking just a few minutes to participate, skippers and vessel owners are helping us build a better understanding of the realities facing fishing businesses today.

“That evidence is invaluable in highlighting industry trends and ensuring the challenges and successes of the fleet are accurately represented.”

Every skipper and vessel owner who takes part in the survey and provides financial data at the end of the year is eligible to receive a free benchmark report comparing the performance of their business with similar vessels across the fleet.

The benchmark report can help identify areas for business improvement and can also support grant or loan applications.

The findings from last year's Fishing Fleet Survey will be published later this summer.