Seafood Sector
Fish catching
In 2024:
- Shetland had a fishing fleet of 262 vessels, employing 415 people
- Of the 262 registered vessels, 218 measured 10 meter and under
- Shetland ranked 2nd in a list of Scottish ports for the tonnage of fish landed, handling 19% of all fish landed in Scotland
- A total of 74,056 tonnes of fish was landed in Shetland by both UK and foreign vessels, worth £112,317,000
- Shetland vessels also landed 106,807 tonnes of fish out with Shetland, worth £106,916,340
Shellfish Aquaculture
The annual Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey collates regional data on the production of Mussels, Pacific Oyster, Native Oyster, Queens and Scallops. Of these species, Shetland produced Mussels and a small amount of Pacific Oyster (around 20,000 shells) in 2024.
In 2024 there was:
- 21 Shetland based shellfish businesses, employing 95 staff
- 146 active shellfish farm sites in Shetland, 52% of the total number of active sites in Scotland
- 10,234 tonnes of mussels produced for the table, which was 90.9% of the total tonnage produced in Scotland and worth £10,725,232
- 2,503 tonnes of mussels produced for on-growing, which was 87.5% of the total produced in Scotland
Finfish Aquaculture
In Shetland in 2024 there was:
- 267 people employed in the sector
- 42,533 tonnes of salmon produced worth £293,052,000, 22% of Scottish total
- 6,660,000 smolts put to sea, 15% of the Scottish total
Fish and Shellfish Processing
There were 20 Food Standards Agency approved fish and shellfish establishments in Shetland in December 2025.