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3.3 million tonnes of fish caught by EU fleet in 2023

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In 2023, the total EU fish catch was an estimated 3.3 million tonnes (t) of live weight from the 7 marine areas covered by EU statistics. This continued the downward trend in catches since 4.6 million tonnes was taken in 2018.

Spain’s fishing fleet accounted for slightly more than one-fifth of all EU catches in 2023 (21%; 698 000 t), followed by Denmark (15%; 495 000 t) and France (14%; 470 000 t).

Fish catches of the EU members, % of the total live weight, 2023. Infographic. See link to full dataset below.

Source dataset: fish_ca_main 

Around 72% of the total EU catch was taken in the Northeast Atlantic area. The key species caught in this area were herring (18%), blue whiting (16%), sprat (13%) and mackerel (10%). About one-fifth of the EU’s total live weight catch in this area was taken by Denmark’s fishing fleet (21%), followed by France’s (15%) and Spain’s (11%).

Almost 10% of the total EU catch was taken in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, where the main species caught were sardines (19%) and anchovies (18%). The Italian fleet took 37% of the EU catch in this area, followed by Greece (20%), Croatia (18%) and Spain (17%).

Catches in the Western Indian Ocean area accounted for 6% of the total EU catch. The vast majority (94%) of the total live weight caught by the EU fishing fleet was tuna, particularly skipjack and yellowfin tuna. About two thirds of the EU catch in the area was taken by Spain’s fleet (68%), with most of the rest by France (30%).

EU catches by marine fishing area in 2023, % of the total live weight caught in each fishing area. Infographic. See link to full dataset below.

Source datasets: fish_ca_mainfish_ca_atl27fish_ca_atl34fish_ca_atl37 and fish_ca_ind51

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Another 6% of the total EU catch was taken in the Eastern Central Atlantic area. The main catches in this area were horse mackerel and skipjack tuna (each 21%) followed by yellowfin tuna (13%) and mackerel (11%). Among EU countries, Spain (40%), France (16%) and the Netherlands (11%) accounted for most of the catches in this area.

Only 6% of the total EU catch was taken in 3 remaining marine areas. The main species caught in these areas were the following: hake and squid (Southwest Atlantic area), blue sharks, skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna (Southeast Atlantic area) and redfish, halibut and cod (Northwest Atlantic area).
This article marks the World Fisheries Day celebrated on 21 November. 

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