FISH LANDINGS IN SCOTLAND IN JULY 2026

Fish landings in Scotland in July 2026. A note by Tony Mackay, Economist tony@tonymackay.co.uk

1. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) have just published their monthly fish landings statistics for the UK for July 2026. The Scottish ones are set out below. The landings are by all UK and foreign vessels.
2. It was a disappointing month for the Scottish fishing industry, with a -11% fall in the value of landings and -26% in the tonnage, compared with July 2025.
3. That was similar with the UK totals, which were a -13% fall in value and -20% in tonnage. Scotland accounted for 65% of the UK value and 67% of the tonnage of fish landed.
4. Only three of the nine Scottish ports/districts recorded increases in value and the other six had decreases. The increases were in Kirkcudbright (+93%), Fraserburgh (+50%) and Scrabster (+15%). The biggest declines were in Lerwick (-47%) and Scalloway (-45%).
5. Only two of the ports recorded increases in tonnage – Kirkcudbright and Fraserburgh – and the other 7 had falls.
6. The value per tonne of fish landed averaged £2,149. That was -4% lower than the UK average of £2,238.
7. There were huge variations in value in Scotland, from £3,072 per tonne in Other Scotland and £3,031 in Scalloway to just £1,669 in Peterhead.

8. Peterhead is by far the busiest fishing port in the UK, accounting for a massive 34% of the total Scottish value and 19% of the total UK value in July. The tonnage shares were 44% of the Scottish total and 30% of the UK. It was a slightly disappointing month for Peterhead, however, with the value of landings down -3% to £13.5 million and the tonnage down -21% to 8,083. The average value per tonne was just £1,669, which was -22% below the Scottish average.
9. Fraserburgh had the second highest value of landings, with £6.1 million. That was a massive +50% higher than in 2025, and the tonnage was +38% higher. The average value of £2,378 was +10% above the Scottish average. The value share was 15% of the Scottish total and the tonnage share 14%. A surprisingly good month for the North East harbour.
10. Lerwick had the third highest value of landings, with just under £2.4 million. However, that was – 42% lower than in July 2025 and the tonnage was even worse at -82%. I shall ask my contacts in Shetland why it was such a bad month. The average value of £2,709 was the third highest.
11. Ullapool also had a bad month, with the value of landings down -26% to just over £2.1 million and the tonnage -33% lower to 810. The average value per tonne was £2,640.
12. Scrabster ranked 5th with just over £1.6 million, which was +15% higher than in July 2025 despite the tonnage being down by -8%. The harbour was only one of three to record an increase in value. The average value was £1,907 per tonne.
13. Kinlochbervie ranked 6th with £785,000, which was -23% lower than last year. The tonnage fell by -31% to 365. A disappointing month for the Sutherland harbour. The average value was £2,151 per tonne, just above the Scottish average.
14. Scalloway ranked 7th with just under £500,000, which was -45% lower than last year and the second worst in the country. The tonnage was down by -58%. It was a bad month for Shetland because Lerwick also recorded big falls. However, the average value of £3,031 was the highest in the country and 50% above the average.
15. Kirkcudbright (8th) had a surprisingly good month with big increases in both value and tonnage. However, the landings there are tiny.
16. It was also a disappointing month for the Other Scotland ports and harbours. Their combined value of landings was down -22% on 2025 and their tonnage down -11%. They accounted for 31% of the total Scottish value and 22% of the tonnage. First 7 months of 2026
17. I have added the value totals for the first 7 months of 2026. The Scottish total of £247 million is down -21% on the same period of 2025. That is obviously very disappointing.
18. The totals for the various ports and harbours are:

• Peterhead £98.3 million, down -25% on last year; and 40% of the Scottish total
• Lerwick £29.3 million -33%; and 12% of the total
• Fraserburgh £22.1 million +9%; and 9%
• Ullapool £15.0 million -18%; and 6%
• Scrabster £11.9 million +6%; and 5%
• Kinlochbervie £8.8 million -12%; and 4%
• Scalloway £5.1 million +4%; and 2%
• Other Scotland £55.9 million -27%; and 23%.

19. If you have any comments on or queries about this note please email them to tony@tonymackay.co.uk.

Image: ©Fish Focus