MMO to strengthen fisheries statistics following accreditation cancellation

The decision allows the MMO to focus on delivering improvements to statistical processes, methodology and data quality. The statistics will continue to be published and remain an important source of information on UK sea fisheries activity.

The MMO is committed to restoring accredited official statistics status and will work closely with the OSR as improvements are implemented, with the intention of seeking reaccreditation in the future.

Rebekah Paul, Head of Statistics and Analysis at the MMO, said:

The Code of Practice for Statistics sets out the standards that official statistics should meet across trustworthiness, quality and value. Since the accredited official statistics designation was suspended in 2024, we have introduced a number of improvements to the Sea Fisheries Statistics, including enhancements to data quality for under-10 metre vessels, updates to the presentation of trade statistics, and improvements to how users can access our statistical releases.

However, further work is needed to fully meet the standards of the Code of Practice, including improvements to the average price methodology, enhancements to the fishers’ survey and the development of a disclosure control policy.