Fish: Consumption and Overseas Trade

(asked on 9th July 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) value and (b) proportion by value of the fish caught in UK waters is (i) consumed domestically, (ii) exported to non-UK EU member states and (iii) exported to the rest of the world; and what (A) value and (B) proportion by value of the fish consumed in the UK is (I) caught in UK waters, (II) imported from other EU member state and (III) imported from the rest of the world.


Answered by
Robert Goodwill Portrait
Robert Goodwill
This question was answered on 15th July 2019

The average value of fish landed by UK and Other Member State vessels from the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) each year is £1,184 million (~£1.2 billion), this represents 38.4% of the total value the UK and Other Member State fleets land from the Northeast Atlantic sea area.

In 2017, the UK exported £1.9bn (460,000 tonnes) of fish and seafood products globally, with over 70% of exports to the EU. The UK is a net importer of fish, importing over 730,000 tonnes of fish worth £3.1bn, with the majority of imports originating outside of the EU.

The Marine Management Organisation publishes trade analysis in their annual UK Sea Fisheries Statistics publication, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-sea-fisheries-annual-statistics-report-2017

These statistics include the outward movement of fish and seafood products produced by businesses in the UK, plus goods which, after importation to the UK, are then exported. The statistics include fish caught by foreign vessels and landed into the UK; fish caught by the UK fleet and landed into foreign ports are excluded. It is not possible to discern the origin of fish from UK trade statistics, or from this the proportion consumed in the UK originating from fish caught in UK waters.

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