Brussels – The value of fish products landed in the European Union in 2025 reached €5.5 billion, a figure similar to that recorded in 2024. The EU’s fish catch – from the seven marine areas covered by EU statistics – was estimated last year at 3.3 million tonnes. According to Eurostat data, the EU’s statistical office, the value of fish landings was highest in Spain, which accounted for 31 per cent of the EU total, followed by France (18 per cent) and Italy (12 per cent). In terms of weight, the Spanish fishing fleet caught 21 per cent of the total EU catch by weight, followed by Denmark (16 per cent) and France (14 per cent).
Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of all fish caught by the EU fleet in 2025 came from the north-east Atlantic. The main species caught in this area were herring (18 per cent of the total), blue whiting (17 per cent), sprat (15 per cent) and mackerel (9 per cent).
The second-largest volume of catches was recorded in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, which accounted for 8 per cent of the EU’s total. The main species in this area were sardines (19 per cent) and anchovies (16 per cent).
A further 7 per cent of the EU’s total catch came from the western Indian Ocean, where almost the entire volume (94 per cent) consisted of three species of tuna: skipjack tuna (58 per cent), yellowfin tuna (29 per cent), and bigeye tuna (7 per cent).
The Central-Eastern Atlantic and South-Western Atlantic regions each accounted for 5 per cent of the total catch. In the Central-Eastern Atlantic, the main catches comprised horse mackerel (38 per cent), skipjack tuna (13 per cent), yellowfin tuna (12 per cent), and mackerel (9 per cent). In the south-western Atlantic, the catch consisted mainly of hake (79 per cent) and squid (13 per cent). The remaining 2 per cent of the total catch came from the north-western and south-eastern Atlantic regions.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
