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A Fresh Start - The Renewed Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture was launched by Roseanna Cunningham, Minister for Environment at a Scottish Parliament Debate on 21 May 2009
Scotland is the largest producer of farmed salmon in the EU. It is the third largest producer in the world, behind Norway and Chile. Scotland is responsible for 80 per cent of UK aquaculture production.
In 2007 Scottish production of Atlantic salmon stood at 129,930 tonnes. This was followed by rainbow trout (7,414 tonnes), and smaller amounts of other species such as cod (1,111 tonnes), brown trout/sea trout (124 tonnes), halibut (147 tonnes) and Arctic charr (6.5 tonnes). The shellfish industry produced 4,850 tonnes of mussels; 3.5 million Pacific oysters; 283,000 Native oysters; 384,000 Queen scallops; and 60,000 King scallops.
Annual production surveys are published on the Marine Scotland Science website at: www.marlab.ac.uk/
Aquaculture makes an important contribution to the Scottish rural economy, especially in the western and northern isles, where many communities are sustained by the employment provided - about 1,500 direct jobs with a further 4,700 downstream.
The aquaculture industry in Scotland is estimated to have a farm gate value of £346 million (2007). This includes £324 million for farmed salmon, about £14 million for rainbow trout, and around £5 million for shellfish. Brown trout, sea trout, halibut and Arctic charr are also farmed in Scotland.