The UK government released in July 2020 its study on the participation, catches and economic impact of sea anglers in the UK in 2016 and 2017 (excluding foreign tourists). It estimates that there are around 823,000 sea anglers in the UK, divided as follows: 607,000 in England, 72,000 in Wales, 81,000 in Scotland and 67,000 in Northern Ireland. Those sea anglers fished for a total of 7 million days in in the years 2015-17. 

It is estimated that marine recreational fisheries have a total economic impact of £1.94 billion and support around 16,300 jobs in 2017.

Reference: 

Kieran Hyder, Adam Brown, Mike Armstrong, Brigid Bell, Kirsty Bradley, Elena Couce, Iain Gibson, Francesca Hardman, James Harrison, Vanessa Haves, Samantha Hook, Jo Kroese, Gavin Mellor, Eleanor MacLeod, Angela Muench, Zachary Radford, and Bryony Townhill, Participation, catches and economic impact of sea anglers resident in the UK in 2016 & 2017, July 2020.