Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics 2022

This report presents statistics on Scotland's marine economy. Scotland’s marine economy includes all activities that:

1. Relate to the oceans, seas, bays, estuaries and other major water bodies.
2. Take place in Scotland or within Scottish waters.
3. Directly contribute to Scotland’s economy.
4. Are not part of related supply chains.

This publication includes activities such as fishing, aquaculture and marine tourism with reliable economic data.

Scotland’s marine economy is measured using:

5. Approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA):  the contribution to the economy of each individual producer, industry or sector. It is the difference between the value of the outputs and the costs of inputs used up in production.
6. Turnover: defined as total sales and work done. Calculated by adding together the values of:
   1. sales of goods produced.
   2. goods purchased and resold without further processing.
   3. work done and industrial services rendered.
   4. non-industrial services rendered.
7. Employment: the number of employees on the payroll and working owners employed on a set day. Employment is a head count and not a Full Time Equivalent (FTE).

Most of the economic information comes from Scottish Annual Business Statistics. Aquaculture, commercial fishing and offshore wind use other data sources. The terminology used for Gross Value Added has been changed to approximate Gross Value Added to be consistent with the Scottish Annual Business Statistics. The methodology used remains the same. To enable comparison of monetary values over time, all values are in 2022 prices. This involved applying HM Treasury deflation tables to previous years data. The sources and methods used in this report are set out in the Data and Methodology.

An Official Statistics in Development Publication for Scotland

These statistics are official statistics in development. Official statistics in development may be new or existing statistics, and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Currently only selected marine sectors are included as limited reliable economic data is available. We are still considering how to include other sectors and how to estimate offshore wind approximate gross value added. The Standard Industry codes are currently under revision and the future addition of a new code on “Electric power generation activities from renewable sources” may enable us to calculate gross value added for offshore generation activities.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.