Survey takes pulse of fishing industry
Seafish, the body which supports the UK seafood industry, said landings in 2024 in Devon and Cornwall were up 4.2%, compared with in 2023, but income was down 2.8%.
The organisation released some of the findings of its 2024 fishing fleet survey as it urged boat skippers and owners to take part in this year's survey.
It said researchers would be visiting harbours in the South West to interview skippers and vessel owners until 19 September.
Seafish said the full results of last year's survey would be released later this year, but it indicated fishing activity across the UK had returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the size of the UK fishing fleet continued to decrease.
It said total fishing income in the South West hit £119.1m in 2024.
Seafish said the data collected from this year's survey would help policymakers make informed decisions and offer insights into how the industry was navigating challenges such as labour shortages and economic fluctuations.
'Invaluable resource'
Juan Carlos Paredes Esclapez, economics project manager at Seafish, said: "Our annual Fishing Fleet Survey continues to be one of our most important projects.
"It serves as an invaluable resource, allowing us to produce reports that support the UK fishing industry, including our Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet Report.
"We strongly encourage as many skippers and vessel owners as possible to participate in this year's survey.
"The information collected through this survey is essential for ensuring that the UK fishing fleet receives the support it needs."
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