Modest profit for Dutch sea fisheries, loss in mussel sector

The cutter fleet closed 2024 with a positive net result of around €15 million, a clear improvement compared with the loss of almost €11 million in 2023. Beam trawlers made more than €8 million profit, shrimp trawlers over €7 million and flyshoot trawlers €1 million. Only the otter trawl fishery ended the year with a loss of about €1 million. Overall, the cutter fleet performed economically better in 2024 than in the previous year.

The average age of cutters is high, meaning that little or no depreciation is applied to vessels. The positive 2024 result is therefore insufficient to finance the fleet renewal that is urgently needed.

Total revenues of the cutter fleet amounted to approximately €206 million in 2024, a 16% increase compared with €177 million in 2023. Shrimp fishing in particular saw a sharp rise: with revenues of €69 million, turnover was 73% higher than the year before. Flyshoot and otter trawl fishing also recorded an 8% increase in revenues. Beam trawling, however, saw a decline of 5%.

Total landings in live weight by the cutter fleet rose by 12% to 38 million kilos. This is still well below the ten-year average of 72 million kilos. In 2024, shrimp landings rose sharply by 65% to over 12 million kilos. Landings of the main flatfish species, sole and plaice, fell to almost 3 million kilos and just over 6 million kilos respectively (–6% and –21%).

Since 2015, a general downward trend has been observed in fish landings (excluding shrimp) per engine-power day. In 2024 this stood at 1,362 kilos, compared with 2,038 kilos ten years earlier – a decline of 33%. The same trend is visible in shrimp fisheries, although annual fluctuations are more pronounced.

In the first quarter of 2025, cutter fisheries achieved revenues of nearly €46 million, 8% higher than in the same period of 2024 (€42 million). Landings increased by 12%. In particular, landings of sole (+20%), plaice (+6%) and whiting (+31%) were higher than in 2024, while shrimp landings were 30% lower.

The number of cutters fell slightly to 212 vessels, with total engine power decreasing by 3,000 hp to 135,000 hp. Twenty years ago the fleet still numbered 367 cutters.

Fishing effort of the cutter fleet in 2024 totalled more than 31,100 sea days, about the same as in 2023 (just over 30,500). Effort increased in shrimp fisheries, to 16,300 sea days (2023: 14,800). Flyshoot fisheries rose to 3,300 sea days (2023: 3,200) and otter trawl fisheries to 3,900 sea days (2023: 3,700). Beam trawling declined to 7,500 sea days (2023: 8,800).

In the first quarter of 2025, the cutter fleet’s effort amounted to 7,400 sea days, about 11% higher than in the same period of 2024. Effort in shrimp fisheries was virtually unchanged.

Large-scale sea fisheries recorded a loss of €4 million in 2024, an improvement compared with a €9 million loss in 2023. Revenues rose by 8% to €107 million, while landings increased by 13% to 236 million kilos. Effort in sea days rose by 11%. The fleet remained unchanged at eight active trawlers.

Other small-scale sea fisheries achieved a positive result of €9 million in 2024 (2023: €5 million), with revenues rising to €29 million (+19%). Landings amounted to more than 21 million kilos (+15%), consisting mainly of shellfish, sea bass and mullet, and to a lesser extent sole, shrimp, lobster and crab.

The ‘other small-scale sea fisheries’ category is a collection of various highly diverse vessels and fishing methods. Because the number of vessels in some segments of this fleet is too small to report separately, all these fisheries are combined into one group. The size of the fleet remained virtually unchanged in 2024 with 433 vessels. A total of 218 vessels fished actively, including those with very few sea days (from one day upwards). Total effort rose by 3% to 3,700 sea days.

Mussel farming closed the 2024/2025 season with an estimated loss of €12 million, compared with a profit of €6 million in the previous season. Revenues fell from €54 million to €36 million, while landings dropped from 33 million kilos to 21 million kilos. The average price per kilo rose slightly (+5%). The number of mussel vessels declined from 45 to 42.

The oyster sector consists of a small number of companies of varying types, some of which are integrated businesses. For this reason, it is not possible to determine economic results for oyster farming. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), in 2023 landings totalled 15.4 million Pacific oysters and 1.3 million native oysters. The fleet consisted of 22 vessels.

In 2024 the export value of fish rose by 3% to €6.4 billion. Export volumes also increased by 5%. Import value rose by 4% to €5.2 billion; import volume even increased by 11%.

Landings of fresh North Sea fish in the Netherlands have been declining for years, partly due to a shrinking national fleet. The Dutch fish-processing and wholesale sector imports fish and shellfish from all over the world. In recent years, fish imports have further increased, particularly from aquaculture.

The EU remains the most important market, accounting for 80% of exports. Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Italy are the largest buyers within the EU. Outside the EU, Nigeria and Egypt are important export markets for frozen pelagic fish. To illustrate: in 2023 only 10 million kilos of plaice were exported, compared with 105 million kilos of salmon. In 2014 these volumes were still almost equal.

The Dutch fisheries sector is affected by international tensions that create logistical challenges. Another issue is the shortage of staff. Shore-based companies are therefore investing in automation and robotics.

Every year, Wageningen Social & Economic Research presents the economic figures of the fisheries sector during Fisheries in Figures. This year the event takes place in Scheveningen on Friday 4 July.

See the full overview of figures at www.agrimatie.nl/visserij