Following the publication of Unravelling the Nets, which analysed seafarer and fishing-related visa and entry clearance policies in the UK and their impact on migrant fishers, this report shifts the focus to the lived experiences of the fishers themselves.

While the UK fishing industry has become increasingly reliant on migrant labour, the sector’s ability to continue to legally recruit migrant fishers in UK waters is now approaching a cliff edge.

Recent policy changes under the 2025 Immigration White Paper have increased Skilled Worker Visa thresholds, further exacerbating what were already significant barriers to entry and rendering the route virtually inaccessible for the fishing industry. While the route currently is technically accessible because certain fishing roles, including deckhands, are listed on the Immigration Salary List (ISL), this window is expected to close further by the end of 2026. Government changes to these systems will almost certainly mean that more workers will be pushed into the insecure transit loophole, and/or it may result in labour shortages.

For almost two decades, the UK fishing industry has utilised the transit loophole to staff its fleets. This system relies on a legal fiction: treating fishers as if they are merely “in transit” through the UK, even though many have been working on British vessels for over ten years. Despite this long-standing service for British employers on UK-flagged vessels, these workers possess no formal immigration status every time they are in the UK, leaving them in a state of permanent precarity.

This report argues that such a framework creates structural vulnerability, locking workers out of access to UK labour rights protections and enforcement mechanisms.

To address these systemic risks, we present the case for a dedicated UK fishing
visa which enables migrant fishers to access rights as workers in practice.