Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2013

The annual production survey of fish farms in Scotland for 2013 was carried out by Marine Scotland Science (MSS). This survey collates annual production data from Scottish fin fish farm sites operated by authorised aquaculture production businesses.


2. ATLANTIC SALMON ( Salmo salar) - OVA AND SMOLTS

Production survey information was collected from all 27 companies actively involved in the freshwater production of Atlantic salmon, farming 102 active sites. This figure represents the entire freshwater industry operating in Scotland.

Company and Site Data

Table 12: Number of companies and sites in production during 2004-2013

Year No. of companies No. of sites
2004 48 172
2005 41 148
2006 39 135
2007 37 135
2008 38 130
2009 30 105
2010 31 104
2011 28 98
2012 28 100
2013 27 102

In 2013, 27 companies authorised by the Scottish Government were actively engaged in the commercial freshwater production of Atlantic salmon farming a total of 102 sites.

Production and Staffing

Table 13: Number (000's) of smolts produced, staff employed and smolt productivity during 2003-2013

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Number (000's) of smolts produced 44,414 39,999 36,326 40,827 38,125 36,450 36,868 36,872 43,626 44,324 40,457
Staffing Full-time 291 259 200 209 217 209 216 233 225 235 237
Part-time 82 60 74 62 62 54 54 56 68 93 48
Total 373 319 274 271 279 263 270 289 293 328 285
Productivity, 000's of smolts per person 119.1 125.4 132.6 150.6 136.6 138.6 136.5 127.6 148.9 135.1 142.0

Smolt production in 2013 decreased by 8.7% compared to 2012. Data for staffing and productivity in 2013 are shown, however, there are uncertainties with these data due to consolidation within the industry.

Smolts by Age Group

Table 14: Number of smolts (000's) produced by type during 2001-2013

Year S1 S1½ S2 Total
2001 14,684 32,732 110 20 47,546
2002 15,791 30,527 843 0 47,161
2003 14,907 28,836 671 0 44,414
2004 14,428 24,862 709 0 39,999
2005 12,639 22,197 1,489 1 36,326
2006 16,953 23,172 698 4 40,827
2007 15,431 22,694 0 0 38,125
2008 12,431 24,019 0 0 36,450
2009 13,837 23,031 0 0 36,868
2010 14,116 22,756 0 0 36,872
2011 17,233 26,393 0 0 43,626
2012 18,795 25,239 290 0 44,324
2013 19,024 21,279 154 0 40,457

There was an increase in the number of S½s and a decrease in the number of S1 smolts produced respectively. A small amount of S1½ were produced and there was no production of S2 smolts.

Production Systems

Table 15: Number and capacity of production systems during 2009-2013

System No. of sites with system Total capacity, 000's cubic metres
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Cages 47 45 44 43 44 388 401 325 349 372
Tanks and Raceways 58 59 54 57 58 37 38 49 51 64
Total 105 104 98 100 102 425 439 374 400 436

The principal types of facility used for the production of smolts in fresh water are cages or tanks and raceways. In 2013, the number of farms using cages increased by one and the number of farms using tanks and raceways also increased by one. In terms of volume, cage capacity increased by 23,000 m³ and tank and raceway capacity increased by 13,000 m³. This resulted in a net increase in volume of 36,000 m³ available for the production of smolts in Scotland during 2013.

Table 16: Number (000's) of smolts produced and stocking densities by production system during 2009-2013

Number of smolts produced (000's) Stocking densities (smolts/m 3)
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Cages 17,041 20,333 23,135 26,882 20,910 44 51 71 77 56
All others 19,827 16,539 20,491 17,442 19,547 536 435 418 342 305
Total 36,868 36,872 43,626 44,324 40,457 - - - - -

The average stocking densities of cages decreased from 77 to 56 fish per m³ in 2013 compared to 2012 while densities in tanks and raceways decreased from 342 to 305 fish per m³.

Ova Production

Table 17: Number (000's) of salmon ova produced during 2006-2013

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No. of ova 60,941 83,822 135,230 91,964 91,655 78,208 57,489 56,904

In 2013, nearly 57 million ova were stripped, a similar number to 2012.

Table 18: Source, number (000's) and previous year's estimate of ova laid down to hatch during 2002-2014

Year In-house broodstock Out-sourced GB broodstock GB wild broodstock Foreign ova Total Previous year's estimate
2002 40,732 30,664 120 15,184 86,700 80,679
2003 38,766 21,138 0 20,822 80,726 73,193
2004 31,390 20,024 27 19,138 70,579 74,464
2005 43,261 22,465 71 9,896 75,693 65,741
2006 19,063 17,768 63 27,157 64,051 58,385
2007 18,837 14,366 78 42,022 75,303 68,032
2008 19,831 14,261 171 26,409 60,672 75,302
2009 17,148 20,158 65 30,200 67,571 64,693
2010 13,744 26,220 0 29,657 69,621 61,011
2011 15,664 14,630 0 34,322 64,616 54,526
2012 18,556 9,981 0 34,700 63,237 55,723
2013 16,995 8,263 0 41,315 66,573 49,249
2014 48,149

The number of ova laid down to hatch was 66.6 million, an increase of over three million (5.3%) on the 2012 figure. The majority of the ova (62.1%) were derived from foreign sources, this being an increase of 6.6 million (19.1%) on the 2012 figure. Supplies derived from GB broodstock decreased by 3.3 million this being an 11.5% decrease on the 2012 figure. No ova from GB wild broodstock were laid down in 2013, however, in previous years the ova derived from wild stocks were generally held and hatched for wild stock enhancement by the aquaculture industry in cooperation with wild fisheries managers.

Smolts Produced and Put to Sea

Table 19: Actual and projected smolt production and smolts put to sea (millions) during 2004-2015

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Actual smolts put to sea 39.1 37.2 41.1 37.8 36.6 38.5 38.5 42.7 41.1 40.9
Smolts produced 40.0 36.3 40.8 38.1 36.4 36.9 36.9 43.6 44.3 40.5
Estimated production 40.0 36.2 33.2 41.2 34.9 32.6 28.7 35.9 31.3 28.1 39.9 41.8
Ratio of ova laid down to smolts produced 1.8 2.1 1.6 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.5 1.4 1.6

The figure for the number of smolts put to sea includes smolts produced in England and fish imported from elsewhere, whereas smolt production data relate only to those produced in Scotland. Farmers estimate putting 39.9 million smolts to sea in 2014. The ratio of ova laid down to hatch to smolts produced in 2013 was greater than in 2012.

Scale of Production

Table 20: Smolt-producing sites grouped by numbers (000's) of smolts produced during 2000‑2013

Year Scale of production No. of sites in production Total smolts produced
1-10 11-25 26-50 51-100 101-250 251-500 501-1,000 >1,000
2000 1 2 10 17 36 24 24 9 123 45,583
2001 0 1 7 19 30 26 13 14 110 47,546
2002 1 1 11 17 29 34 17 10 120 47,161
2003 2 0 7 20 32 31 12 10 114 44,414
2004 3 3 9 14 31 22 18 7 107 39,999
2005 2 1 4 15 25 22 21 4 94 36,326
2006 1 4 2 9 19 21 18 10 84 40,827
2007 2 2 4 7 21 21 14 11 82 38,125
2008 2 1 5 8 21 20 15 9 81 36,450
2009 0 0 3 7 14 18 10 12 64 36,868
2010 1 0 4 4 16 15 10 14 64 36,872
2011 1 0 4 5 11 14 9 17 61 43,626
2012 0 0 1 3 19 14 11 13 61 44,324
2013 1 0 1 7 14 14 7 14 58 40,457

Note: These data refer only to sites producing smolts. The sites holding only ova, fry or parr are excluded.

The number of sites producing smolts in 2013 was 58. The number of sites producing less than 101,000 smolts has increased by five while there has been an decrease of nine in the number of sites producing between 101,000 and one million smolts. The number of sites producing in excess of one million smolts per year has increased by one.

Production of Ova and Smolt by Production Area

Table 21: Staffing in 2013, ova laid down to hatch in 2012-2013, smolt production in 2012-2013 and estimated production in 2014-2015 by region

Region Number of staff employed in 2013 Ova laid down to hatch (000's) Smolt production (000's) Estimated smolt production (000's)
F/T P/T 2012 2013 2012 2013 2014 2015
North West 125 17 29,998 34,090 27,271 24,451 23,544 23,053
Orkney 1 1 0 55 130 142 140 140
Shetland 19 12 1,250 3,683 1,681 1,468 1,263 2,400
West 38 12 8,375 16,906 6,582 7,628 9,230 11,392
Western Isles 38 5 10,053 6,200 5,034 5,866 4,326 3,470
East and South 16 1 13,561 5,640 3,626 902 1,359 1,300
All Scotland 237 48 63,237 66,574 44,324 40,457 39,862 41,755

In 2013, the North West and the West were the main areas where ova were laid down to hatch. The North West, the West and the Western Isles were the main smolt producing areas. The greatest number of staff were employed in the North West region.

International Trade in Ova

Since the introduction of the EU single market on 1 st January 1993 and the associated Fish Health Regulations common to all EU member states, a trade in live salmon and ova has been established. In addition, the European Economic Area ( EEA) agreement allows trade between the EU and the member states of the European Free Trade Association ( EFTA). Trade is based on the same rules as are established within the EU regarding compartments and zones declared free from listed diseases.

Trade with Third Countries has also been established, but only from sites that have met the same health standards as are established within the EU regarding the approval of farms and zones for listed diseases. Exports to countries outside the EU are subject to the health conditions placed by the importing country. Marine Scotland Science advises potential exporters to ascertain with the importing country any specific health testing requirements that may be a condition of import.

Figure 2: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon smolt sites in 2013

Figure 2: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon smolt sites in 2013

Imports and Exports

Table 22a: Source and number (000's) of ova, parr and smolts imported during 2001-2013 derived from health certificates

Import Year Ova Parr and Smolts
EU Member States EFTA Third Countries Total EU Member States
Iceland Norway Australia USA
2001 8,173 10,833 - 1,620 - 20,626 2,475
2002 8,650 11,623 - 1,800 500 22,573 2,879
2003 7,820 9,518 2,900 550 400 21,188 2,570
2004 4,450 3,475 6,750 1,860 450 16,985 824
2005 2,610 570 13,210 - 450 16,840 150
2006 11,575 300 15,940 2,400 - 30,215 375
2007 10,511 0 33,555 0 0 44,066 420
2008 5,600 0 22,703 0 0 28,303 519
2009 5,460 0 29,938 0 0 35,398 328
2010 2,150 0 26,533 0 0 28,683 452
2011 3,400 0 35,851 0 0 39,251 800
2012 10,134 0 23,849 0 0 33,983 0
2013 10,700 2,719 35,044 0 0 48,463 55

The numbers of ova imported increased by 42.6%. A small number of parr and smolts were imported in 2013.

Table 22b: Destination and number (000's) of salmon ova, parr and smolts exported during 2002-2013 derived from health certificates

Export year Farmed origin Total Parr and Smolts
Chile EU Norway Others
2002 1,600 6,627 0 0 8,227 0
2003 0 2,171 0 0 2,171 941
2004 2,215 3,699 0 0 5,914 1,488
2005 8,560 3,130 0 1,566 13,256 1,362
2006 26,930 4,312 0 0 31,242 998
2007 32,150 164 0 0 32,314 2,169
2008 62,185 130 0 15 62,330 551
2009 7,181 317 0 0 7,498 89
2010 0 189 600 0 789 130
2011 0 0 0 820 820 183
2012 0 0 0 0 0 55
2013 0 650 0 0 650 404

In 2013, 650,000 ova were exported. Parr and smolt exports increased by 635% on the 2012 figure.

Vaccines

Table 23: Number of sites using vaccines and number (millions) of fish vaccinated during 2005-2013

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No. of sites 84 79 73 80 68 70 67 63 63
No. of fish (millions) vaccinated 33.8 43.5 41.0 36.7 39.6 42.6 49.2 48.1 47.5

Vaccines were used to provide protection against furunculosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis ( IPN), enteric redmouth disease ( ERM), vibriosis and salmonid alphavirus ( SAV). The majority of fish were vaccinated against furunculosis and IPN, with smaller numbers of fish being vaccinated against ERM, vibriosis and SAV. A total of 47.5 million fish were vaccinated across 63 sites.

Escapes

There were two incidents involving the loss of 16,646 freshwater farmed Atlantic salmon in 2013.

Contact

Back to top