Fishing fleet shrinks by 24 in three years

The details come from the States Sea Fisheries annual report, for 2019, which was released this week.

The agency reported a total of 173 States-registered fishing vessels in 2018.

In 2021, there were 149 – meaning the fleet reduced by 24 boats in three years.

‘It [the reduction of vessels] is a natural thing,’ said Dougal Lane, vice- president of the Guernsey Fisherman’s Association yesterday.

‘The old fishers are dying off and not many young people can afford to get into it. It’s an expensive business to get into.’

Mr Lane said that fishing licenses could cost between £30,000 to £100,000.

‘There are very few people who make a living from fishing. Most are in the business because they enjoy it, and almost all of the fishermen have jobs onshore. For most, it’s a part- time job,’ he said.

The overall reduction in the size of Guernsey’s registered fleet was not surprising to Mr Lane.

He said it was an industry that was important to the people who were involved in it, but it ultimately made up less than 1% of Guernsey’s GDP.

‘It supplies food to a lot of people, and it’s important for those who are in it, but it’s not a big part of the island’s economy,’ said Mr Lane.

Guernsey vessels are required to log landing totals, and data for 2019 continued the general downward trend for 18 of the species reported. Landed spider crabs suffered the biggest decline in 2019, with a decrease of 29.3 tons compared to 2018.

However, the 2019 catch of spider crabs is still the second largest landed weight on record following a record-breaking total in 2018.

Lobster catches declined by 16.7 tons and Great Atlantic scallops were down by 24.7 tons in 2019 compared to the previous year. Total wetfish landed increased by 14% in 2019, but the total value of catches decreased by £127,000 due to a 7% decline in shellfish which make up a

bigger proportion of local exports.