Seafish census: Solent & Dorset morning note
30 June — Seafish launches the 2026 UK Seafood Processors Census
What Seafish is asking
Seafish has opened its 2026 UK Seafood Processors Census for processors across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The online return records site locations, employment, business value and tonnes handled in 2025 by species — including imported raw material. The form takes 20–30 minutes to complete. Results are anonymised and aggregated; a preliminary summary appears in September 2026, with a full report later in the year.
What it means for bait
The census will map volumes of processed mackerel, sandeel and other bait inputs. That data directly affects wholesalers and local tackle shops on the south coast. Morning checks show peeler crab and sandeel supplies tight in Poole and Weymouth this week. Retailers are rotating stock toward fresh mackerel and lugworm, and wholesalers are timing shipments so bait boxes hit shelves ahead of weekend bookings.
Local bite, tides and bookings
On the Solent, early tides are pushing sea bass into the eastern channels around Lymington and Cowes. Short, furious surface runs at dawn. Shore anglers from Bournemouth to West Bay note steady topwater action. Charter skippers running bass charters on the Solent are tweaking departure times to match tide windows and incoming bait shipments. Dorset shore trips at Weymouth and Portland favour creel-caught ragworm or mackerel strips on the incoming tide. Seasonal outlook: a warm surface layer and light south-westerlies will keep bass feeding through June and should concentrate mackerel patches off the Isle of Wight this week.
Recommended: insulated bait box