Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2019

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland during 2019. Statistics on employment, production and value are presented.


2. Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) - Ova and Smolts

Production survey information was collected from all 23 companies actively involved in the freshwater production of Atlantic salmon, farming 76 active sites. This figure represents the entire freshwater industry operating in Scotland.

Company and Site Data

Table 12: Number of companies and sites in production during 2010-2019
Year No. of companies No. of sites
2010 31 104
2011 28 98
2012 28 100
2013 27 102
2014 26 96
2015 25 87
2016 26 87
2017 24 79
2018 24 71
2019 23 76

In 2019, the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government for freshwater production of Atlantic salmon decreased by one to 23. A total of 76 sites were actively engaged in commercial production, an increase of five from the 2018 figure.

Production and Staffing

Table 13: Number (000’s) of smolts produced, staff employed and smolt productivity during 2010-2019
Year Number (000’s) of Smolts produced Full-time Male Full-time Female Total Full-time Part-time Male Part-time Female Total Part-time Total Staff Productivity (000’s) smolts per person
2010 36,872 213 20 233 42 14 56 289 127.6
2011 43,626 207 18 225 45 23 68 293 148.9
2012 44,324 218 17 235 60 33 93 328 135.1
2013 40,457 226 11 237 29 19 48 285 142.0
2014 45,004 226 18 244 42 23 65 309 145.6
2015 44,571 208 31 239 41 14 55 294 151.6
2016 42,894 225 27 252 35 7 42 294 145.9
2017 46,152 219 31 250 33 8 41 291 158.6
2018 47,097 210 29 239 30 9 39 278 169.4
2019 51,430 215 32 247 26 8 34 281 183.0

Smolt production in 2019 increased by 9% compared to 2018. The number of staff employed in 2019 increased by three and productivity increased by 8% to a figure of 183,000 smolts produced per person.

Data for staffing and productivity in 2013 are shown, however, there are uncertainties with these data due to consolidation within the industry.

Smolts by Age Group

Table 14: Number of smolts (000’s) produced by type during 2010-2019
Year S1 S1½ Total
2010 14,116 22,756 0 36,872
2011 17,233 26,393 0 43,626
2012 18,795 25,239 290 44,324
2013 19,024 21,279 154 40,457
2014 22,367 22,473 164 45,004
2015 23,850 20,711 10 44,571
2016 25,072 17,822 0 42,894
2017 28,072 18,080 0 46,152
2018 24,058 23,039 0 47,097
2019 25,607 25,823 0 51,430

In 2019, there were increases in the numbers of S½ (6.4%) and S1 (12.1%) smolts produced. There was no production of S1½ smolts in 2019.

Production Systems

Table 15: Number and capacity of production systems during 2015-2019
System No. of sites with system Total capacity, 000’s cubic metres
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Cages 38 38 36 27 27 355 400 357 346 351
Tanks and Raceways 49 49 43 44 49 47 46 55 54 68
Total 87 87 79 71 76 402 446 412 400 419

The types of facility used for the production of smolts in freshwater are cages or tanks and raceways. In 2019, the number of farms using cages remained the same as in 2018 and the number of farms using tanks and raceways increased by five. In terms of volume, cage capacity increased by 5,000 m3 and tank and raceway capacity increased by 14,000 m3. This resulted in a net increase in volume of 19,000 m3 available for the production of smolts in Scotland during 2019.

Table 16: Number (000’s) of smolts produced and stocking densities by production system during 2015-2019
Number of smolts produced (000’s) Stocking densities (smolts/m3)
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Cages 18,135 15,884 17,207 21,771 18,964 51 40 48 63 54
All others 26,436 27,010 28,945 25,326 32,466 562 587 526 469 477
Total 44,571 42,894 46,152 47,097 51,430 - - - - -

The average stocking densities of cages decreased from 63 to 54 smolts per m3 in 2019 compared to 2018, while densities in tanks and raceways increased from 469 to 477 smolts per m3.

Ova Production

Table 17: Number (000’s) of salmon ova produced during 2010-2019
Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
No. of ova 91,655 78,208 57,489 56,904 33,450 11,605 13,689 12,631 15,228 11,618

In 2019, 11.6 million ova were stripped, a decrease of 24% from the number of ova produced in 2018.

Table 18: Source, number (000’s), previous year’s estimate of ova laid down to hatch during 2010-2019 and projected production for 2020
Year In-house broodstock Out-sourced GB broodstock GB wild broodstock Foreign ova Total Previous year's estimate
2010 13,744 26,220 0 29,657 69,621 61,011
2011 15,664 14,630 0 34,322 64,616 54,526
2012 18,556 9,981 0 34,700 63,237 55,723
2013 16,996 8,263 0 41,315 66,573 49,249
2014 14,418 2,725 10 53,684 70,837 48,149
2015 6,479 223 10 61,463 68,175 65,284
2016 5,884 4 0 58,458 64,346 59,604
2017 6,228 360 0 59,158 65,746 60,673
2018 8,780 200 0 61,499 70,479 67,374
2019 5,516 1,724 75 63,931 71,246 71,571
2020 70,598

The number of ova laid down to hatch was 71.2 million, an increase of 0.8 million (1.1%) on the 2018 figure. The majority of the ova (89.7%) were derived from foreign sources, this being an increase of 2.4 million (4.0%) on the 2018 figure. Supplies derived from GB broodstock decreased by 1.7 million, an 18.5% decrease on the 2018 figure. In 2019, 75,000 ova from GB wild broodstock were laid down to hatch, ova derived from wild stocks are generally held and hatched for wild stock enhancement by the aquaculture industry in cooperation with wild fisheries managers.

Smolts Produced and Put to Sea

Table 19: Actual and projected smolt production and smolts put to sea (millions) during 2010-2021
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Actual smolts put to sea 38.5 42.7 41.1 40.9 48.1 45.5 43.0 46.1 45.4 53.0
Smolts produced 36.9 43.6 44.3 40.5 45.0 44.6 42.9 46.2 47.1 51.4
Estimated production 28.7 35.9 31.3 28.1 39.9 43.4 36.6 39.3 46.1 38.6 52.1 56.6
Ratio of ova laid down to smolts produced 1.9 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4

The figure for the number of smolts put to sea includes smolts produced in England and smolts imported from elsewhere, whereas smolt production data relate only to those produced in Scotland. Smolt producers estimate putting 52.1 million smolts to sea in 2020. The ratio of ova laid down to hatch to smolts produced in 2019 was less than the ratio in 2018.

Scale of Production

Table 20: Smolt-producing sites grouped by numbers (000’s) of smolts produced during 2010‑2019
Year Scale of production No. of sites in production Total smolts produced
1-10 11-25 26-50 51-100 101-250 251-500 501-1,000 >1,000
2010 1 0 4 4 16 15 10 14 64 36,872
2011 1 0 4 5 11 14 9 17 61 43,626
2012 0 0 1 3 19 14 11 13 61 44,324
2013 1 0 1 7 14 14 7 14 58 40,457
2014 0 0 2 1 11 9 14 13 50 45,004
2015 1 1 2 4 9 11 16 11 55 44,571
2016 1 1 0 3 7 11 13 12 48 42,894
2017 1 0 0 2 6 11 10 15 45 46,152
2018 0 1 0 0 6 9 14 12 42 47,097
2019 1 0 0 2 8 8 10 16 45 51,430

Note: These data refer only to sites producing smolts. The sites holding only ova, fry or parr are excluded.

The number of sites producing smolts in 2019 was 45. The number of sites producing less than 101,000 smolts increased by two and there has also been an increase of four in the number of sites producing in excess of one million smolts per year. The number of sites producing between 101,000 and one million smolts per year decreased by three.

Production of Ova and Smolt by Production Area

Table 21: Staffing in 2019, ova laid down to hatch in 2018-2019, smolt production in 2018-2019 and estimated production in 2020-2021 by region
Region Number of staff employed in 2019 Ova laid down to hatch (000’s) Smolt production (000’s) Estimated smolt production (000’s)
F/T P/T 2018 2019 2018 2019 2020 2021
North West 130 15 41,362 34,519 28,975 29,660 25,397 29,896
Orkney 1 2 0 0 108 102 100 140
Shetland 25 1 5,708 6,512 3,287 4,560 4,350 4,500
West 56 11 16,673 23,221 10,451 11,772 17,799 17,059
Western Isles 31 2 6,694 6,952 3,514 4,362 3,835 4,285
East and South 4 3 42 42 762 974 616 700
All Scotland 247 34 70,479 71,246 47,097 51,430 52,097 56,580

In 2019, the North West and the West were the main areas where ova were laid down to hatch. The North West and the West were the main smolt producing areas. The greatest number of staff were employed in the North West region.

Figure 2: The regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon smolt sites in 2019
The map is split into 6 areas: Shetland, Orkney, North West, East & South, West and Western Isles and has black dots showing where each site is on the map.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 OS (100024655)

International Trade in Ova

Since the introduction of the EU single market on 1st January 1993 and the associated Fish Health Regulations common to all EU member states, a trade in live salmon and ova has been established. In addition, the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement allows trade between the EU and the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Trade is based on the same rules as are established within the EU regarding compartments and zones declared free from listed diseases.

Trade with Third Countries has also been established, but only from sites that have met the same health standards as are established within the EU regarding the approval of farms and zones for listed diseases. Exports to countries outside the EU are subject to the health conditions placed by the importing country. Marine Scotland Science advises potential exporters to ascertain with the importing country any specific health testing requirements that may be a condition of import.

Imports and Exports

Table 22a: Source and number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts imported during 2010-2019 derived from health certificates
Import Year Ova Fry, Parr and Smolts
EU Member States EFTA Total EU Member States EFTA - Norway
Iceland Norway
2010 2,150 0 26,533 28,683 452 0
2011 3,400 0 35,851 39,251 800 0
2012 10,134 0 23,849 33,983 0 0
2013 10,700 2,719 35,044 48,463 55 0
2014 5,218 3,813 49,831 58,862 1,602 1,748
2015 4,815 8,978 45,926 59,719 2,118 365
2016 5,444 5,324 38,602 49,370 1,956 0
2017 7,000 13,883 37,025 57,908 2,012 0
2018 7,250 10,116 48,430 65,796 1,700 0
2019 10,184 26,352 23,673 60,209 297 0

The numbers of ova imported decreased by 8.5%. The number of fry, parr and smolts imported decreased from that observed in 2018, with 0.3 million imported from EU member states.

Table 22b: Destination and number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts exported during 2010-2019 derived from health certificates
Export year Farmed origin ova Total Fry, Parr and Smolts
EU Norway Others
2010 189 600 0 789 130
2011 0 0 820 820 183
2012 0 0 0 0 55
2013 650 0 0 650 404
2014 0 0 0 0 259
2015 93 0 2 95 8
2016 335 0 23 358 173
2017 16 0 323 339 206
2018 23 0 0 23 71
2019 0 0 0 0 263

In 2019, no ova were exported. Fry, parr and smolt exports increased by 192,000 fish on the 2018 figure.

Vaccines

Table 23: Number of sites using vaccines and number (millions) of fish vaccinated during 2010-2019
Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
No. of sites 70 67 63 63 56 55 47 46 43 46
No. of fish (millions) vaccinated 42.6 49.2 48.1 47.5 44.7 48.0 42.6 58.4 51.0 52.4

Vaccines were used to provide protection against furunculosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN), ERM, vibriosis and salmonid alphavirus (SAV). The majority of fish were vaccinated against furunculosis, vibriosis and IPN, with smaller numbers of fish being vaccinated against ERM and SAV. A total of 52.4 million fish were vaccinated across 46 sites.

Escapes

In 2019, there was one incident involving the loss of 4,465 fish from a site rearing freshwater Atlantic salmon.

Contact

Email: lorna.munro@gov.scot

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