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Fish landings by Irish vessels declined by 15% last year, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures have found.
According to the newly-released CSO data, in 2022 Irish fishing boats landed 175,000 tonnes of fish in total, between both Irish and foreign ports – down from 206,000 tonnes in 2021.
When just looking at foreign ports, the decline is even steeper – landings by Irish vessels in foreign ports declined by 24%, or 5,770 tonnes last year.
Over the past decade, fish landings by Irish vessels have been in decline from a high point of 276,000 tonnes in 2014, to 175,000 tonnes today – a decline of 37%.
By far, the biggest fish landings of any port in Ireland was at Killybegs in Co. Donegal, at 103,000 tonnes – 65% of all landings from Irish vessels in Ireland came from this port alone.
The figures also revealed that 41% of fish landings in Irish ports last year were by foreign vessels. The percentage of fish landed in Irish ports by foreign boats has grown significantly over the years, growing from 27% in 2013, to 41% in 2022.
The CSO revealed that foreign boats landed 110,000 tonnes in Ireland in 2022, down from 117,000 in 2021, and 136,000 in 2020.
In 2022, the species with the highest quantity landed by Irish vessels in Ireland was Atlantic Mackerel at 46,131 tonnes, which was 29% of Irish landings in Ireland. Other species included Blue Whiting (17%) and Horse Mackerel (9%). Atlantic Mackerel and Lobster Norway have generally been the two species with the highest value landings by Irish vessels in Ireland, a pattern continued in 2022, with Atlantic Mackerel valued at €70 million and Lobster Norway at €66 million.
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