Most catches down, but ‘encouraging’ numbers of young fish in annual survey

Numbers are down for many of Shetland’s important commercial whitefish , according to UHI’s latest annual independent inshore survey published at the end of December.

Haddock, whiting and cod were all “at the lower end of observed catch rates” since the survey began more than a decade ago, said senior fisheries scientist and the survey report’s lead author, Shaun Fraser.

The survey also found more young fish, however – a positive sign for future catches if nursery areas around the islands can be protected.

The Shetland Fishermen’s Association said the lower catch rates highlight “the cyclical nature of fish stocks over time” and that the higher number of young fish  were a hopeful sign that fish numbers “are set to bloom around Shetland in the years ahead”.

Shetland’s inshore fish survey (SIFS) has been carried out by UHI every year since 2011.

Scientists take to the waters around Shetland in a trawler of their own, the Atlantia II, to see what they can catch at just over two dozen pre-determined spots around the islands’ inshore waters.

In the 2024 survvey squid numbers remained high, along with less commercially important fish such as John Dory, spurdog and horse mackerel. 

The survey also found two new fish in the area: the scaldfish and imperial scaldfish –  both small flatfish typically found in more southern waters.

Daniel Lawson, executive officer with the Shetland Fishermen’s Association said the results were “encouraging”.

“But they underline the need to protect valuable nursery and spawning areas from inshore developments, especially with a series of such developments at the planning stage.”

• Read the full story in this week’s edition of The Shetland Times, out Friday, 24th December.

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