Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2015

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised shellfish farming businesses in Scotland.


// Production

The survey indicates that the shellfish species cultivated in

Scottish waters in 2015 were:

Mussel:

Mytilus spp.

Pacific oyster:

Crassostrea gigas

Native oyster:

Ostrea edulis

Queen scallop:

Aequipecten opercularis

Scallop:

Pecten maximus

Production was dominated by mussel and Pacific oyster, although small quantities of scallop, queen scallop (queen) and native oyster were also produced. The 2015 production data for each species by region are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Scottish shellfish production by region, 2015.

Region

Businesses

Mussel

Pacific oyster

Native oyster

Queen

Scallop

(tonnes)

(000s)

(000s)

(000s)

(000s)

Tonnes Table

Tonnes

on-growing

000s

Table

000s

on-growing

000s

Table

000s

on-growing

000s

Table

000s

on-growing

000s

Table

000s

on-growing

Highland

49

420

73

556

3,844

0

0

1

0

27

47

Orkney

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Shetland

26

5,565

1,768

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Strathclyde

49

567

0

2,133

2,020

200

13

32

900

3

2

Western Isles

17

718

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

All Scotland

144

7,270

1,841

2,693

5,864

200

13

33

900

30

49

Weight (Tonnes)

7,270

1,841

215

16

1

4

NB: THIS REPORT LISTS REGIONS WITH ACTIVE SHELLFISH FARMS OPERATED BY AUTHORISED AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION BUSINESSES.

CONVERSION TO WEIGHT USED THE FOLLOWING ASSUMPTIONS (BASED ON INDUSTRY FIGURES): INDIVIDUAL OYSTERS AVERAGED 80g; INDIVIDUAL SCALLOPS AVERAGED 120g; INDIVIDUAL QUEENs AVERAGED 40g.

TABLE = SALES DIRECTLY FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION;

ON-GROWING = SALES TO OTHER BUSINESSES FOR ON-GROWING.

Table production by species is illustrated in Figure 1, while trends in production for the table market and on-growing in Scotland are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Trends in production data for the table and on-growing 2006-2015.

For the table

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

%change 14-15

Pacific oyster (000s)

3,138

2,603

3,093

2,900

3,008

3,136

2,706

1,891

3,392

2,693

-21

Native oyster (000s)

300

273

250

490

350

350

317

260

242

200

-17

Queen (000s)

1,510

384

687

138

184

27

9

33

18

33

83

Scallop (000s)

87

15

15

35

64

78

58

40

48

30

-38

Mussel (tonnes)

4,219

4,806

5,869

6,302

7,199

6,996

6,277

6,757

7,683

7,270

-5



For on-growing

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Pacific oyster (000s)

1,685

945

26

45

1,633

1,400

3,190

6,216

6,792

5,864

Native oyster (000s)

0

10

0

0

300

1

677

1,015

749

13

Queen (000s)

0

0

0

30

0

0

0

1,490

500

900

Scallop (000s)

287

45

0

0

0

104

16

1,470

136

49

Mussel (tonnes)

68

44

30

391

175

282

309

1,281

1,263

1,841

Mussel production, for the table, decreased by 5% in 2015 ( see figure 1) to 7,270 tonnes, this is the second highest production level of mussels on record. The greatest contribution in regional mussel production was from Shetland, accounting for 5,565 tonnes or 77% of Scotland's total. Pacific oyster production decreased by 21% from 2014. The Strathclyde region produced 79% of Scotland's farmed Pacific oysters. Queen scallop production increased by 83% since 2014 while the production of farmed scallops decreased by 38%, both these sectors continue to target small niche markets. Production of native oysters decreased by 17% from 2014. Native oyster production accounts for a small percentage of total oyster production, however, demand for this species continues to be high. Historical data for all shellfish species show that production levels vary year on year, this can be due to a number of different factors such as poor spat fall, algal toxins, poor growth, adverse weather and fluctuations in market prices.

Figure 1: Table production by species 2006-2015.

Figure 1: Table production by species 2006-2015

Prices of farmed shellfish fluctuated throughout the year. Their value at first sale was estimated from the following figures (supplied by industry these vary with demand, level of production and geographical area of origin). The average price of Pacific oyster was £0.39 per shell; native oyster, £0.60 per shell; scallop, £1.89 per shell; queen scallop, £0.11 per shell and mussels £1217 per tonne. The value of the table trade is estimated from the production figures shown in Table 1.

Mussel: £8.8 million
Native oyster: £0.12 million
Queen: £0.004 million
Pacific oyster: £1.1 million
Scallop: £0.06 million

The 2015 total value, at first sale for all species, was calculated at approximately £10.1 million, a decrease from £10.5 million estimated in 2014.

Contact

Back to top