Provisional Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2015

Background Information

1. The Provisional Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2015 can be accessed at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/provisionalfishstats

2. The main source for Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics is Marine Scotland's FIN (Fisheries Information Network) administrative data base containing information on sea fishing activity and catch details, including sales details from Registered Buyers and Sellers ( RBS), input by Marine Scotland Compliance, based on information supplied by fishing vessels, buyers and sellers. Where necessary, this is supplemented by information from the equivalent "Rest of UK" administrative system, FAD, using data held in the UK data warehouse, IFISH. FIN holds details of all fish landings into Scotland and landings abroad by Scottish based vessels.

Voyage and landings information is supplied by skippers who, for vessels over 10 metres, are required by EU legislation to maintain logbooks and provide landings declarations. Although this EU legislation does not require vessels of 10 metres and under to provide this information; in Scotland they provide equivalent information on the FISH1 forms. Data on first sales of fish, which provides information on the value of landings, is provided by fish buyers and sellers under EU legislation on the Register of Buyers and Sellers. Information is collated and entered at port offices and then transmitted to the FIN central server.

3. Data on employment within the Scottish fishing fleet is collated by Marine Scotland in an annual survey distributed to port offices in each of the 18 Scottish fishing districts. The total burden on all respondents for this small survey is estimated to total no more than £1 thousand each year, based on information obtained from each office on the time taken to complete the return and the grades of staff involved.

4. The Sea Fisheries Data Team will regularly update certain management information such as levels of quota uptake and fish prices on their web site -which can be accessed at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/Datasets

5. Further information on Agriculture and Fisheries statistics within Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries

6. National statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff - more information on the standards of National statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/About