Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics 2020

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the breeding, growing, and harvesting of plants and animals in water. It can take place in natural water bodies such as ponds, lakes, and the ocean. Tanks, commonly found in fish hatcheries, are also used. Aquaculture production in Scotland includes salmon, trout, mussels, and other shellfish. Scottish Annual Business Statistics is not the sole or main source for the aquaculture data. Instead, data from several surveys are combined for more reliable estimates. See Annex for more information.

In 2020, aquaculture generated £362 million GVA, 0.26% of the Scottish economy and 9% of the marine economy GVA. Aquaculture employed 2,391 people, 0.09% of Scottish employment and 3% of marine economy employment.

From 2019 to 2020, the GVA from aquaculture decreased by 39% from £591 million to £362 million. The longer term trend from 2011 to 2020 increased by 76% from £206 million. From 2011 to 2020, employment increased by 32%.

In 2020, Atlantic salmon made up 96% of the aquaculture value, similar to previous years. The production of salmon is a process that takes several years. So, some years will have higher costs and lower production than others. In 2015, the GVA dropped (Figure 4) due to lower salmon prices and higher costs because of disease challenges. In 2020, the Covid-19 restrictions impacted on demand for salmon products abroad, especially in China.

Local authority breakdowns of the aquaculture data are not available. But, salmon and mussel production are available by grouped Scottish marine region (Tables 26 and 27). Salmon production occurs in seven of the eleven Scottish marine regions. A quarter of salmon production is in the combined North Coast and West Highlands region. Three quarters of Scottish Mussel production takes place in the Shetland Isles.