Decline in Fish and Shrimp Landings to a New Low

The fishing sector has faced a challenging year, marked by a significant restructuring and, on top of that, dramatic shrimp catches, resulting in red landing figures. The turnover at the remaining fish auctions dropped sharply last year, reaching only 193 million euros for fish and 35.4 million euros for shrimp. The landings at Dutch auctions have halved in less than five years.

According to the figures from the National Consultation Fish Auctions (NOVA), the total auction turnover last year decreased to 228 million euros, representing a decrease of 54 million euros or almost 20% less turnover compared to 2022. Besides the restructuring, the halving of shrimp landings and a declining supply of fish contributed to this remarkable decline.

IJmuiden Stands Out with an Increase in Turnover

Remarkably, the Hollandse Visveiling in IJmuiden is the only auction that showed an increase in turnover, from 66.4 to 67.7 million euros in 2023. This brings IJmuiden closer to Urk, which now holds a market share of 30.7%. Urk, with a market share of 32.6%, recorded a slight decrease in turnover to 71.7 million euros. Interestingly, the rapidly rising squid in Urk has surpassed the declining turbot turnover and has become the second most important species after plaice.

Fish Species Under Pressure, Particularly Turbot and Langoustines

While turbot remains the undisputed number one among fish species, turnover has significantly decreased from 75 million to just under 59 million euros. Squid, however, continues to rise, nearing the decreased plaice turnover at 32.5 million euros. Turbot records a turnover of over 16 million euros, while langoustines experience a shrinkage from just under 16 million to 11 million euros. The challenges in the fishing sector continue to accumulate, and the figures indicate a worrisome trend in landings and turnover at Dutch fish auctions.

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