Fishing industry in Scotland to feed the fisher and their immediate community. By the medieval period, salmon and herring were important resources and were exported to continental Europe, and the towns of the Hanseatic League in particular. As the industry developed, "fishertouns" and villages sprang up to supply the growing towns and fishing became more specialised. The many religious houses in Scotland acted as a spur to fisheries, granting exclusive fishing rights and demanding part of their tithes in fish. In the early 19th Century, the British Government began to subsidise the catches of herring boats larger than 60 tons, plus an additional bounty
Fishing industry in England in 2017, with a value of £980 million. Scottish vessels accounted for 64 per cent of the quantity of landings by the UK fleet while English vessels accounted for 28 per cent. Fish processing companies are based in Grimsby (Young's Bluecrest), Whitby (Whitby Seafoods) and Lowestoft (Birds Eye). The Marine and Fisheries Agency controls the sea fisheries legislation in England and Wales. The National Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby displays how the fishing industry in England once was. also in Grimsby is the Sea Fish Industry Authority (SeaFish) which promotes the consumption of fish, and conducts research for the fishing