Photo by Sarah Agnew
The UK Sea Fisheries Statistics are no longer accredited official statistics. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) requested the cancellation, and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) agreed to it on 27 October. Accreditation had been suspended since December 2024. The annual and monthly statistics will continue to be published while improvements are made, and the MMO intends to seek reaccreditation in future.
What still needs fixing
Rebekah Paul, the MMO’s Head of Statistics and Analysis, said progress had been made since the suspension, including better data quality for under-10 metre vessels. “However, further work is needed to fully meet the standards of the Code of Practice, including improvements to the average price methodology, enhancements to the fishers’ survey and the development of a disclosure control policy,” she said.
The MMO’s cancellation notice identifies a further gap. Landings by Scottish vessels are missing from the monthly statistics because of a problem with the Scottish Government’s fisheries management database. As a result, a significant volume of mackerel and herring landings is absent from the provisional figures.
With mackerel quotas cut for 2026, the notice acknowledges that changes in fishing activity are not being effectively captured in the monthly release. Manual amendments are made to quota monitoring statistics, but not yet in a form compatible with the monthly figures.
The notice also sets out the earlier problems with the Catch Recording app. A 2025 quality review found that data submitted by under-10 metre fishers were not reaching MMO databases. The MMO has since reverted to sales notes as the primary source for landing weights and values for those vessels.
Regulator’s view
In his letter agreeing the cancellation, OSR Director General Ed Humpherson welcomed the improvements to data quality and accessibility. He also acknowledged the source data issue: “I note the challenges you outline with some of the source data required for you to produce the monthly sea fisheries statistics release.” He offered OSR support in working with other data producers, adding: “My team will be happy to support engagement with other producers and data suppliers on this issue, if helpful.”
The MMO has published a development plan covering October 2026 to September 2027. On 7 October it also launched LEAPFISH, a new release combining Vessel Monitoring System data with landings to show where over-12 metre vessels fish. LEAPFISH is published as official statistics in development.