Scottish shellfish farm production survey 2020

Marine Scotland Science today published the Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2020.

The publication details statistics on the employment, production and value of shellfish from Scottish Shellfish Farms. It is structured to follow industry trends within the mussel, Pacific oyster, native oyster, queen scallop and scallop species sectors. Some statistics are given for the 10-year period 2011-2020. 

The main findings are:

• Table production tonnage of mussels decreased by 15% from 6,699 tonnes in 2019 to 5,661 tonnes in 2020.
• Table production of Pacific oyster shells decreased by 33% from the 2019 total. Additionally, over 1.6 million shells were produced for on-growing in other waters.
• Employment increased by 8% from 2019, with 300 full, part-time and casual staff employed in 2020.
• Overall estimated first sale value of the industry was calculated to be approximately £6.1 million in 2020, a 23% decrease on the 2019 figure. Many businesses reported lost trade while the hospitality sector was in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.