Sea Fisheries Background Information

The Northern Ireland licensed sea fishing industry is concentrated at the three east coast fishing ports of Ardglass, Kilkeel, and Portavogie, which are operated by the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department.

A significant proportion of small, under 10 metre, vessels also operate from other harbours around the North Coast, and the deep water port at Lisahally provides berthing and unloading services for larger, particularly pelagic (e.g. herring and mackerel) vessels.

At the end of 2009 the Northern Ireland fishing fleet comprised of 370 fishing vessels of which 149 were over 10 metres in length and 221 under 10 metres in length. The fleet depends mainly on fishing opportunities in the Irish Sea and North Channel and it is the main UK fishery interest in the Irish Sea. The main catch of the fleet is Nephrops.

The total value of fish landed by Northern Ireland vessels in 2009 was just over £26 million with aquaculture output adding an additional £9 million. However this information does not include comprehensive data on the commercial operations of the under 10 metre fleet, for which data submission is voluntary.