Fish and seafood in the UK - statistics & facts

Seafood retail in the UK

As of 2020, there were 1,149 UK enterprises that specifically sold fish, crustaceans and molluscs. This number was part of an ongoing downwards trend since 2008. That same year, the majority of seafood consumers in the UK purchased their fish chilled. In 2020, over 60 percent of retail sales in the seafood market were chilled products. Of these chilled seafood products, the largest chilled segment were natural products, without any breading or other preparation. This could be due to chilled products being seen as ‘healthier’ than other products. Chilled products, such as seafood, also gives consumers more flexibility with their longer shelf-life.

International seafood trade with the UK

Echoing this, the import value of fresh fish into the UK has stagnated in recent years, while the import value of frozen fish has steadily increased. Cured and smoked fish products also saw increasing popularity, with growing imports to the UK. Interestingly, salmon and cod were amongst the most imported type of fish. Cod fishing is highly regulated in the UK, as cod stocks previously plummeted and once came very close to collapsing. The demand is still there, however, as cod is often the fish of choice in their famous dish ‘fish and chips’.

Consumer expenditure in the UK on fish & seafood

Since 2003, the consumer price index (CPI) on fish in the UK has risen considerably, meaning households are paying more today for the same amount of fish compared to 2003. The consumer price index on fish in the UK totalled approximately 64 in 2003, however today it stands at almost 114. Several factors previously touched on are thought to influence the performance of the industry, and the corresponding CPI. People in the UK in the age bracket between 50 and 75 are the largest consumers of fish, spending upwards of 3.7 British pounds per week on fish products. This is in contrast to those under 30 years of age, who spend on average just 1.5 British pounds.

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