The Fishing News Awards 2025

Over 200 guests attended the gala presentation evening for the Fishing News Awards 2025 to celebrate the achievements of people, companies and organisations across the UK and Irish fishing industry…

The only event dedicated to recognising achievement, innovation and success across the UK and Irish commercial fishing industry, this year’s Fishing News Awards crowned winners in 11 categories.

The gala awards evening on 7 May was the culmination of a five-month process that started with the opening of nominations back in December, then moving through the shortlisting, voting and judging stages, alongside the organisation of the event itself – and none of it would have been possible without the enthusiasm and support of our readers, sponsors and colleagues from across the industry.

This year’s awards saw a wide range of nominations from across the British Isles, making the job of whittling down the many worthy contenders to our shortlisted finalists even more of a challenge. We again saw a record number of votes in our seven open categories, with many candidates drawing an impressive level of support, and some very close-fought contests.

The remaining four categories were judged by expert industry panels. The Boat of the Year categories were decided by a panel drawn from across the world of naval architecture, safety certification and engineering, chaired by SFF safety officer Derek Cardno. Independent panels, including marine scientists as well as fishing industry representatives, also judged the Sustainability and Lifetime Achievement awards. We’re very grateful to all of our judges for contributing their time and expertise, which makes these awards even more prestigious.

Fishing industry celebrations are always tempered by memories of those whom we have lost. We were therefore very pleased to once again welcome the Fishermen’s Mission as our charity partner. Our table collection will help to support the unstinting work of the Mission in support of fishermen and their families the length and breadth of the country.

We were also delighted to welcome back the Fishing Industry Safety Group as our safety partner at this year’s awards, giving us the opportunity to highlight its invaluable work to prevent future tragedies at sea.

Our grateful thanks go to everyone who helped to make this year’s awards possible, and particularly to our sponsors: the Fishing Industry Safety Group, the Marine Stewardship Council, Peterhead Port Authority, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association, Seafish, Seafood Scotland and Sunderland Marine.

We’re also grateful for the additional support once again provided to our young finalists by Sunderland Marine and Fishing into the Future, which enabled many of them to attend the awards evening.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to make nominations and place votes in this year’s awards, and to all of our shortlisted candidates for taking part. Our congratulations go to all of this year’s winners
– and also to the many very deserving runners-up.

The Fishing News Awards celebrate all aspects of an industry that draws its strength from the collective achievements of its many parts – fishermen, boatbuilders, service companies, ports, processors, retailers and more. Despite all the pressures on the industry, these awards are a reminder of the many people doing great work, and all the reasons to be positive about the future.

Check out some images from past awards below…