Annual Fish Farm Production Survey 2012

Annual Fish Farm Production Survey 2012


1. RAINBOW TROUT ( Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Production survey information was collected from all 25 companies actively involved in rainbow trout production, farming 48 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Production

Table 1a: Total production (tonnes) of rainbow trout during 1998-2012 and projected production in 2013

Year Tonnes Year Tonnes
1998 4,913 2006 7,492
1999 5,834 2007 7,414
2000 5,154 2008 7,670
2001 5,466 2009 6,766
2002 6,659 2010 5,139
2003 7,085 2011 4,619
2004 6,352 2012 5,670
2005 6,989 2013 6,697*

Production increased in 2012 by 1,051 tonnes, an increase of 22.8%.

* Industry estimate based on stocks currently being on-grown.

Table 1b: Production (tonnes) for the table trade during 2002-2012 according to weight category

Year <450 g 450-900 g >900 g Total
<1 lb 1-2 lbs >2 lbs Tonnes
2002 2,937 1,056 1,718 5,711
2003 2,531 1,181 2,477 6,189
2004 1,553 1,946 1,917 5,416
2005 2,856 1,203 2,111 6,170
2006 2,182 1,810 2,636 6,628
2007 2,499 1,663 2,407 6,569
2008 2,375 1,950 2,487 6,812
2009 2,232 1,143 2,620 5,995
2010 2,125 727 1,606 4,458
2011 1,421 1,004 1,433 3,858
2012 1,195 1,655 2,209 5,059

Production for the table in 2012 was 5,059 tonnes, an increase of 1,201 tonnes (31.1%) on the 2011 total, and accounted for 89.2% of the total rainbow trout production, a similar proportion to that produced in 2011. Supply was mainly of fish weighing up to 900g, encompassing 56.3% of total table production. Increases in the number of fish in the medium and large size ranges and a decrease in the number of fish in the small size range were highlighted.

Table 1c: Production (tonnes) for the restocking trade during 2002-2012 according to weight category

Year <450 g 450-900 g >900 g Total
<1 lb 1-2 lbs >2 lbs Tonnes
2002 28 484 436 948
2003 63 490 343 896
2004 64 509 363 936
2005 21 390 408 819
2006 36 357 471 864
2007 24 413 408 845
2008 27 351 480 858
2009 32 294 444 770
2010 19 201 461 681
2011 8 419 334 761
2012 22 266 323 611

In 2012, production for the restocking of angling waters decreased by 150 tonnes to 611 tonnes representing a decrease of 19.7% on the 2011 total. This accounted for 10.8% of total rainbow trout production in 2012. These figures represent the tonnage of fish supplied to angling waters for restocking purposes; they do not account for the catch taken by anglers. The production of medium and large sized fish showed decreases, while this increased for small sized fish.

Escapes

There were two incidents involving the loss of a total of 3,434 fish from rainbow trout sites in 2012.

Production by Site

Table 2: Numbers of sites grouped by tonnage produced during 2002-2012

Year Number of sites per production tonnage Total number of sites
<1-25 26-100 101-200 >200
2002 16 13 4 12 45
2003 17 9 6 11 43
2004 14 14 5 10 43
2005 18 12 6 11 47
2006 16 15 6 13 50
2007 14 15 3 16 48
2008 8 15 7 14 44
2009 10 11 7 11 39
2010 7 13 9 7 36
2011 9 10 6 8 33
2012 10 10 6 8 34

Production was reported from 34 sites. The number of producers in the size bracket <1-25 tonnes increased in 2012, while those producers in the other size brackets remained the same. These figures do not include those sites specialising in the production of ova or young fish for on-growing.

Production by Method

Table 3: Grouping of rainbow trout sites by production tonnages, main method of production in 2012 and comparison with production in 2011

Production method Production grouping (tonnes) in 2012 Total tonnage and (%) by method Number of sites
<10 10-25 26-50 51-100 >100 2011 2012 2011 2012
FW cages 1 0 0 0 5 1,835
(39.7%)
2,220
(39.2%)
6 6
FW ponds and raceways 2 3 3 6 4 1,619
(35.1%)
1,362
(24.0%)
19 18
FW tanks and hatcheries 3 0 0 0 0 9 (<1%) 12 (<1%) 3 3
SW cages 1 0 1 0 5 1,156
(25.0%)
2,076
(36.6%)
5 7
SW tanks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 7 3 4 6 14 4,619 5,670 33 34

Freshwater production accounted for 3,594 tonnes (63.4%) and seawater production for the remaining 2,076 tonnes (36.6%). Production from freshwater cages and seawater cages increased whilst there was a decrease in production from freshwater ponds and raceways.

Company and Site Data

Table 4: Number of companies and sites in production during 1999-2012

Year No. of companies No. of sites
1999 54 68
2000 54 63
2001 50 57
2002 39 57
2003 37 56
2004 38 62
2005 42 70
2006 36 66
2007 38 70
2008 31 66
2009 27 56
2010 25 51
2011 23 48
2012 25 48

In 2012 the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government and actively engaged in rainbow trout production was 25. The number of sites registered and in production was 48.

Staffing and Productivity

Table 5: Number of staff employed and productivity per person during 1999-2012

Year Full-time Part-time Total Productivity
(tonnes/person)
1999 126 51 177 33.0
2000 121 47 168 30.7
2001 118 41 159 34.4
2002 114 46 160 41.6
2003 107 41 148 47.9
2004 115 37 152 41.8
2005 108 35 143 48.9
2006 112 35 147 51.0
2007 111 32 143 51.8
2008 107 34 141 54.4
2009 111 27 138 49.0
2010 98 31 129 39.8
2011 95 23 118 39.1
2012 79 28 107 53.0

The overall number of staff employed in 2012 decreased by 11 to 107. The numbers of full-time staff decreased by 16 while the number of part-time staff increased by five. Productivity, measured as tonnes produced per person, increased by 35.5% in 2012 with no distinction between full and part-time employees being made for this calculation.

Production by Area

Table 6: Production and staffing by area in 2012

Area No. of sites Table production (tonnes) Restocking production (tonnes) Mean tonnes per site Staffing Productivity (tonnes/person)
F/T P/T Total
North 7 3 39 6.0 7 5 12 3.5
East 15 821 236 70.5 24 8 32 33.0
West 12 3,621 41 305.2 22 10 32 114.4
South 14 614 295 64.9 26 5 31 29.3
All 48 5,059 611 118.1 79 28 107 53.0

Productivity was greatest in the West at 305.2 tonnes per site and productivity per person was greatest in the West at 114.4 tonnes.

Figure 1: The distribution of active rainbow trout sites in 2012

Figure 1: The distribution of active rainbow trout sites in 2012

Type of Ova Laid Down

Table 7: Number (000's) and proportions (%) of ova types laid down to hatch during 2001-2012

Year All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%) Total ova
2001 20,788 (90) 2,107 (9) 140 (1) 23,035
2002 19,733 (89) 1,822 (8) 570 (3) 22,125
2003 24,692 (94) 1,586 (6) 60 (<1) 26,338
2004 29,272 (90) 3,146 (10) 138 (<1) 32,556
2005 16,773 (83) 1,729 (8) 1,745 (9) 20,247
2006 22,378 (84) 2,804 (10) 1,626 (6) 26,808
2007 23,630 (83) 2,531 (9) 2,140 (8) 28,301
2008 22,978 (88) 2,526 (9) 725 (3) 26,229
2009 15,469 (87) 2,341 (13) 35 (<1) 17,845
2010 13,352 (89) 1,052 (7) 675 (4) 15,079
2011 12,673 (84) 2,254 (15) 215 (1) 15,142
2012 10,967 (85) 2,005 (15) 7 (<1) 12,979

Source of Ova Laid Down

Table 8: Number (000's) and sources of ova laid down to hatch 2001-2012

Year Ova produced in Great Britain ( GB) Imported ova Total
Own stock Other stock Total Northern hemisphere Southern hemisphere Total
2001 918 525 1,443 13,515 8,075 21,590 23,033
2002 530 200 730 12,385 9,010 21,395 22,125
2003 430 280 710 25,578 50 25,628 26,338
2004 330 320 650 31,906 0 31,906 32,556
2005 281 105 386 16,977 2,884 19,861 20,247
2006 541 2,169 2,710 22,588 1,510 24,098 26,808
2007 936 230 1,166 26,650 485 27,135 28,301
2008 582 487 1,069 25,160 0 25,160 26,229
2009 603 220 823 17,022 0 17,022 17,845
2010 415 50 465 14,614 0 14,614 15,079
2011 215 189 404 14,738 0 14,738 15,142
2012 14 230 244 12,735 0 12,735 12,979

The total number of eyed-ova laid down to hatch in 2012 was less than that in 2011. The proportion of ova from GB broodstock decreased to 1.9% of the total and the rainbow trout industry remained reliant on imported ova. Data on the importation of ova into Scotland are also available from the health certificates and are shown in Table 9a. Any discrepancy between the figures in Tables 8 and 9a is due to data being obtained from two independent sources.

Imports of Ova from Official Import Health Certificates

Table 9a: Number (000's) and sources of ova imported into Scotland during 2005-2012

Source 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
N. Ireland 1,710 2,830 7,721 16,130 10,090 9,247 7,320 8,332
Isle of Man 1,700 3,480 3,767 775 290 1,400 520 300
Denmark 9,225 14,525 13,070 5,530 4,070 1,715 5,250 1,950
South Africa - - 485 - - - - -
USA 4,440 2,310 890 1,490 2,240 2,340 1,580 1,800
France 200 - - - - - - -
Australia 2,600 1,500 - - - - - -
Norway - 500 1,200 1,500 750 200 130 300
Totals 19,875 25,145 27,133 25,425 17,440 14,902 14,800 12,682

Table 9b: Seasonal variation in numbers (000's) and sources of ova imported into Scotland during 2012

Month Norway Isle of Man Denmark N. Ireland USA
January 120 - 225 1,000 -
February 180 - 575 1,160 -
March - 300 435 1,000 -
April - - - - -
May - - 390 500 -
June - - - 1,350 800
July - - - - 200
August - - - 1,050 200
September - - - - 600
October - - 125 462 -
November - - - 750 -
December - - 200 1,060 -
Totals 300 300 1,950 8,332 1,800

Suppliers within the European Union ( EU) accounted for 83.4% of ova imported into Scotland during 2012 with the USA and Norway accounting for 14.2% and 2.4% respectively. To maintain their ability to regulate production throughout the year and produce a constant supply of fish for their markets, producers have to rely upon supplies of out of season ova.

Trade in Fry and Fingerlings

Table 10: Number (000's) of fry and fingerlings traded during 2001-2012

Year Fry and fingerlings bought Total number bought Total number sold
All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%)
2001 16,065 (96) 685 (4) 0 16,750 13,961
2002 10,031 (88) 670 (6) 667 (6) 11,368 10,101
2003 17,500 (94) 1,007 (5) 193 (1) 18,700 17,451
2004 18,859 (91) 1,536 (7) 364 (2) 20,759 19,166
2005 14,618 (83) 1,532 (9) 1,480 (8) 17,630 16,919
2006 19,731 (89) 1,675 (7) 790 (4) 22,196 20,460
2007 14,830 (89) 1,140 (7) 675 (4) 16,645 23,631
2008 24,298 (95) 1,082 (4) 118 (0.5) 25,498 31,036
2009 21,113 (94) 1,358 (6) 0 22,471 20,597
2010 15,539 (95) 585 (4) 141 (1) 16,265 14,686
2011 16,288 (88.5) 1,970 (10.7) 138 (0.8) 18,396 16,612
2012 12,543 (91) 1,226 (9) 0 13,769 12,088

The established trade between hatcheries and on-growing farms continued in 2012. Some companies specialised in the production of fry and fingerlings. The total number of fry and fingerlings purchased and sold decreased by 25.2% and 27.2% respectively. The disparity between supply and demand is due to trade with England and Wales.

Use of Vaccines

Table 11: Number of sites rearing fish vaccinated against enteric redmouth disease ( ERM) during 2001-2012

Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
No. of sites 33 34 38 42 37 31 28 28 31 27 26 24

Vaccines continued to be widely used as a preventative treatment against enteric redmouth disease ( ERM), a potentially serious bacterial disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia ruckeri. A total of 20.4 million fish were vaccinated on 24 sites. Vaccination is generally carried out as a bath treatment at the fingerling stage, although some vaccines were administered by intra-peritoneal injection.

Organic Production

Of the 48 sites recorded as being active in rainbow trout production in 2012, none were certified as organic.

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