UK Fishing Effort in Scottish Seas Using Active Pelagic Gears, Last Five Years

Fishing Statistics - Effort (days) by UK-registered vessels (10m or greater) using active pelagic gears provides data derived from UK commercial fishing activity in Scottish seas. The dataset covers the latest published statistics and the previous four years, with values redacted to -1 in ICES rectangles where fewer than five vessels operate. The data originates from the Government Digital Service via the eu_open_data platform.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in fishing effort based on the five-year time series mentioned in the description.
• Model spatial distribution of fishing activity based on the ICES statistical rectangle system referenced.
• Assess fleet activity for specific gear types (midwater trawls, seines, trolling lines) based on the gear categories described.
• Identify areas of low vessel activity where data is redacted, based on the described suppression rule.

Strengths

• Covers a five-year time series, providing a multi-year perspective.
• Includes specific gear types: midwater trawls, seines, and trolling lines.
• Data is spatially organized by the standardized ICES statistical rectangle system.
• Includes a data protection measure (redaction for <5 vessels) to preserve confidentiality.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Derived from UK-registered commercial fishing activity records.

Time Range

Last five years of published statistics

Freshness

Covers the latest published statistics and the previous four years, but the exact publication date is unknown.

Geography

Scottish seas