Captains encouraged to complete survey on Scottish fishing industry

Fishing captains and owners across Scotland have been encouraged to complete a survey detailing how their business has fared across the last 12 months.

Seafish, a public body supporting the United Kingdom’s fishing industry, are visiting harbours and ports across Scotland from July 15 through to September 20.

Vessel owners and captains are encouraged to take part in the nationwide survey as their experiences across the last year will help to influence how Scotland’s fishing industry is run, and the direction it takes in the future.

The survey is estimated to take around 15 minutes to complete and is strictly confidential.

All participating vessel skippers will receive a free First Aid at Sea Guide, and can also take advantage of a free benchmark report on offer, designed to compare the performances of vessels of a similar build – helping to identify areas for economic improvement for all sea crew.

The annual survey revealed that last year, nearly a quarter of those interviewed said that their business performances were ‘poor or below average’, whilst 41% believed their experiences of fishing in the Scottish seas were ‘average’.

Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) also said they were unsure about how successful their fishing prospects would fare across the next 3-5 years, indicating that many were unsure about the steadiness of the industry.

Those wishing to take part in the survey can find an itinerary of Seafish’s schedule HERE

Alternatively, pre-arranged interviews are also encouraged by emailing fleet.survey@seafish.co.uk

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