Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2014

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland.


3. Atlantic Salmon - Production

Production

Production survey information was collected from all 18 companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 260 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Table 24: Annual production of salmon (tonnes) during 1994-2014 and projected production in 2015

Year Tonnes Percentage difference Year Tonnes Percentage difference
1994 64,066 32 2005 129,588 -18
1995 70,060 9 2006 131,847 2
1996 83,121 19 2007 129,930 -1.4
1997 99,197 19 2008 128,606 -1
1998 110,897 12 2009 144,247 12
1999 126,686 14 2010 154,164 6.9
2000 128,959 2 2011 158,018 2.5
2001 138,519 7 2012 162,223 2.7
2002 144,589 4 2013 163,234 0.6
2003 169,736 17 2014 179,022 9.7
2004 158,099 -7 2015 186,508*

*industry estimate of projected tonnage based on stocks currently being on-grown.

The total production of Atlantic salmon during 2014 was 179,022 tonnes, an increase of 15,788 tonnes (9.7%) on the 2013 production and highest ever level of production recorded in Scotland.

Table 25: Number (000's), production (tonnes) of salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) per year class during 2004-2014

Year of smolt input Year of harvest Number (000's) Production (tonnes) Mean weight at harvest (kg)
Harvest in year 0 ( i.e. in year of input) 2004 2004 168 319 1.9
2005 2005 0 0 -
2006 2006 115 211 1.8
2007 2007 23 40 1.7
2008 2008 116 216 1.9
2009 2009 81 178 2.2
2010 2010 128 268 2.1
2011 2011 109 307 2.8
2012 2012 127 301 2.4
2013 2013 0 0 -
2014 2014 286 720 2.5
Harvest in year 1 2003 2004 19,596 85,792 4.4
2004 2005 15,075 67,738 4.5
2005 2006 14,036 64,099 4.6
2006 2007 13,787 60,890 4.4
2007 2008 13,011 54,759 4.2
2008 2009 16,338 77,621 4.7
2009 2010 18,266 85,826 4.7
2010 2011 18,694 91,105 4.9
2011 2012 21,502 97,744 4.5
2012 2013 21,264 106,161 5.0
2013 2014 20,316 101,997 5.0
Harvest in year 2 2002 2004 15,555 71,988 4.6
2003 2005 13,920 61,850 4.4
2004 2006 14,237 67,537 4.7
2005 2007 14,999 69,000 4.6
2006 2008 15,881 73,631 4.6
2007 2009 14,132 66,448 4.7
2008 2010 13,666 68,070 5.0
2009 2011 13,772 66,606 4.8
2010 2012 13,053 64,178 4.9
2011 2013 11,283 57,073 5.1
2012 2014 13,712 76,305 5.6

Table 26: Number (000's) and production (tonnes) of grilse and pre-salmon harvested during 2004-2014

Year Grilse (January-August) Pre-salmon (September-December)
Number Tonnes Average weight (kg) Number Tonnes Average weight (kg)
2004 6,824 27,710 4.1 12,772 58,082 4.5
2005 5,662 22,972 4.1 9,413 44,766 4.7
2006 4,357 18,162 4.2 9,679 45,937 4.7
2007 3,823 15,811 4.1 9,964 45,079 4.5
2008 3,716 15,296 4.1 9,295 39,463 4.2
2009 5,631 23,857 4.2 10,707 53,764 5.0
2010 6,877 29,733 4.3 11,389 56,093 4.9
2011 7,604 35,146 4.6 11,090 55,959 5.0
2012 11,337 53,216 4.7 10,165 44,528 4.4
2013 9,618 47,496 4.9 11,646 58,665 5.0
2014 9,048 46,686 5.2 11,268 55,311 4.9

Table 27: Percentage (by weight) of annual production by growth stage harvested during 2006-2014

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Growth stage - - - - - - - - -
Input year fish <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 0 <1
Grilse 13 12 12 16 19 22 33 29 26
Pre-salmon 35 34 31 37 36 35 27 36 31
Salmon 51 53 57 46 44 42 39 35 42

Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes

Table 28: Survival and production in smolt year classes during 1997-2014

Year of smolt input Smolt input (000's) Harvest year 0 Harvest year 1 Harvest year 2 Total % of year class harvested Year class weight (tonnes) Yield per smolt (kg)
Number (000's) Weight (tonnes) Mean weight (kg) % harvest Number (000's) Weight (tonnes) Mean weight (kg) % harvest Number (000's) Weight (tonnes) Mean weight (kg) % harvest
1997 42,766 282 585 2.1 0.7 29,014 86,783 3.0 67.8 9,027 40,098 4.4 21.1 89.6 127,466 2.98
1998 45,870 696 2,048 2.9 1.5 22,556 83,823 3.7 49.2 8,450 36,323 4.3 18.4 69.1 122,194 2.66
1999 41,106 1,000 2,763 2.8 2.4 23,077 89,963 3.9 56.1 9,096 40,754 4.5 22.1 80.6 133,480 3.25
2000 45,185 765 2,673 3.5 1.7 22,726 96,539 4.2 50.3 11,354 53,535 4.7 25.1 77.1 152,747 3.38
2001 48,643 557 1,227 2.2 1.1 23,528 90,230 3.8 48.4 15,619 73,255 4.7 32.1 81.6 164,712 3.39
2002 50,086 272 824 3.0 0.5 22,602 96,205 4.3 45.1 15,555 71,988 4.6 31.1 76.7 169,017 3.37
2003 43,083 82 276 3.4 0.2 19,596 85,792 4.4 45.5 13,920 61,850 4.4 32.3 78.0 147,918 3.43
2004 39,041 168 319 1.9 0.4 15,075 67,738 4.5 38.6 14,237 67,537 4.7 36.5 75.5 135,594 3.47
2005 37,168 0 - - 0 14,036 64,099 4.6 37.8 14,999 69,000 4.6 40.3 78.1 133,099 3.58
2006 41,091 115 211 1.8 0.3 13,787 60,890 4.4 33.5 15,881 73,631 4.6 38.6 72.5 134,732 3.28
2007 37,853 23 40 1.7 0.06 13,011 54,759 4.2 34.4 14,133 66,448 4.7 37.3 71.8 121,247 3.20
2008 36,662 116 216 1.9 0.3 16,338 77,621 4.7 44.6 13,666 68,070 5.0 37.3 82.2 145,907 3.98
2009 38,548 81 178 2.2 0.2 18,266 85,826 4.7 47.4 13,772 66,606 4.8 35.7 83.3 152,610 3.96
2010 38,490 128 268 2.1 0.3 18,694 91,105 4.9 48.6 13,053 64,178 4.9 33.9 82.8 155,551 4.04
2011 42,733 109 307 2.8 0.3 21,502 97,744 4.5 50.3 11,283 57,073 5.1 26.4 77.0 155,124 3.63
2012 41,094 127 301 2.4 0.3 21,264 106,161 5.0 51.7 13,712 76,305 5.6 33.4 85.4 182,767 4.45
2013 40,936 0 - - 0 20,316 101,997 5.0 49.6
2014 48,045 286 720 2.5 0.6

In 2012, the last year for which survival can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest increased to 85.4%. Of the 2013 year class, 49.6% of the input has been harvested, 2.1% lower than the average harvest of fish one year after input in the 2012 year class. In 2014, the harvest of fish from the 2014 input was 0.6%, this was an increase compared with the proportion of fish harvested from the same year class in 2013.

Smolts to Sea

Table 29: Number (000's) and origin of smolts put to sea during 2002-2014

Year Smolts put to sea (000's) Total (000's) Scottish Origin English Origin Other Origin
S1 S1½ S2 % (000's) % (000's) %
2002 15,850 32,761 1,475 0 50,086 94 1,564 3 1,676 3
2003 14,534 28,283 986 0 43,803 93 2,590 6 325 >1
2004 14,044 23,776 1,221 0 39,041 97 634 2 541 >1
2005 13,051 22,501 1,616 0 37,168 96 1,594 4 0 0
2006 15,578 23,733 1,779 0 41,090 96 1,257 3 272 >1
2007 14,665 23,188 0 0 37,853 94 1,747 5 420 1
2008 11,101 25,561 0 0 36,662 96 1,418 4 0 0
2009 14,967 23,581 0 0 38,548 95 1,700 4 105 <1
2010 14,069 24,421 0 0 38,490 95 1,541 4 120 <1
2011 17,721 25,012 0 0 42,733 96 1,765 4 0 0
2012 17,334 23,480 280 0 41,094 96 1,510 4 0 0
2013 19,262 21,534 140 0 40,936 97 1,169 3 0 0
2014 23,759 24,144 142 0 48,045 94 893 2 2,072 4

The total number of smolts put to sea in 2014 was 48.1 million. This smolt input comprised S1s (50.3%), S½s (49.4%) and a small number of S1½s (0.3%). Six percent of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland, 4% of which came from sources outwith Great Britain. This was an increase of 3% compared with the proportion observed in 2013.

Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes by Production Area

Table 30: Number (000's) of smolts put to sea and year class survival by area during 2003-2014

Region Smolts put to sea (000's) Harvest in year 0 Harvest in year 1 Harvest in year 2 Total Harvest
Year No Year No % Year No % Year No % No %
North West 2003 13,103 2003 0 0 2004 7,667 58.5 2005 2,847 21.7 10,514 80.2
2004 9,642 2004 168 1.7 2005 4,516 46.8 2006 2,978 30.9 7,662 79.5
2005 10,888 2005 0 0 2006 5,796 53.2 2007 2,914 26.8 8,710 80.0
2006 10,403 2006 115 1.1 2007 4,300 41.3 2008 3,664 35.2 8,079 77.7
2007 9,563 2007 23 0.2 2008 5,394 56.4 2009 1,850 19.3 7,267 75.9
2008 9,099 2008 69 0.8 2009 4,897 53.8 2010 2,687 29.5 7,653 84.1
2009 9,986 2009 42 0.4 2010 7,045 70.5 2011 2,003 20.1 9,090 91.0
2010 9,924 2010 117 1.2 2011 6,324 63.7 2012 2,802 28.2 9,243 93.1
2011 12,605 2011 53 0.4 2012 7,937 63.0 2013 1,744 13.8 9,734 77.2
2012 11,588 2012 127 1.1 2013 7,179 62.0 2014 2,623 22.6 9,929 85.7
2013 10,975 2013 0 0 2014 6,549 59.7
2014 17,543 2014 191 1.1
Orkney 2003 2,964 2003 0 0 2004 1,141 38.5 2005 980 33.1 2,121 71.6
2004 1,842 2004 0 0 2005 480 26.0 2006 416 22.6 896 48.6
2005 2,192 2005 0 0 2006 598 27.3 2007 602 27.4 1,200 54.7
2006 1,622 2006 0 0 2007 433 26.7 2008 586 36.1 1,019 62.8
2007 1,408 2007 0 0 2008 594 42.2 2009 741 52.6 1,335 94.8
2008 1,912 2008 0 0 2009 507 26.5 2010 1,120 58.6 1,627 85.1
2009 1,154 2009 0 0 2010 741 64.2 2011 95 8.2 836 72.4
2010 2,557 2010 0 0 2011 1,126 44.0 2012 936 36.6 2,062 80.6
2011 2,718 2011 0 0 2012 1,203 44.3 2013 765 28.1 1,968 72.4
2012 2,727 2012 0 0 2013 1,422 52.1 2014 1,167 42.8 2,589 94.9
2013 2,104 2013 0 0 2014 1,023 48.6
2014 2,761 2014 0 0
Shetland 2003 14,446 2003 0 0 2004 6,031 41.7 2005 4,071 28.2 10,102 69.9
2004 12,372 2004 0 0 2005 4,220 34.1 2006 4,040 32.7 8,260 66.8
2005 10,824 2005 0 0 2006 4,162 38.4 2007 4,175 38.6 8,337 77.0
2006 13,180 2006 0 0 2007 4,578 34.7 2008 5,349 40.6 9,927 75.3
2007 14,947 2007 0 0 2008 4,530 30.3 2009 4,930 33.0 9,460 63.3
2008 13,929 2008 47 0.3 2009 4,992 35.8 2010 4,659 33.4 9,698 69.6
2009 10,031 2009 29 0.3 2010 4,201 41.9 2011 3,234 32.2 7,464 74.4
2010 11,573 2010 0 0 2011 4,134 35.7 2012 4,292 37.1 8,426 72.8
2011 11,206 2011 49 0.4 2012 4,911 43.8 2013 2,709 24.2 7,669 68.4
2012 11,389 2012 0 0 2013 4,995 43.9 2014 4,022 35.3 9,017 79.2
2013 9,956 2013 0 0 2014 4,289 43.1
2014 11,309 2014 0 0
South West 2003 6,834 2003 0 0 2004 2,110 30.9 2005 3,646 53.3 5,756 84.2
2004 6,786 2004 0 0 2005 3,281 48.4 2006 2,722 40.1 6,003 88.5
2005 6,589 2005 0 0 2006 2,054 31.2 2007 4,175 63.3 6,229 94.5
2006 7,032 2006 0 0 2007 2,677 38.1 2008 3,427 48.7 6,104 86.8
2007 6,135 2007 0 0 2008 980 16.0 2009 3,289 53.6 4,269 69.6
2008 6,507 2008 0 0 2009 4,153 63.8 2010 2,969 45.6 7,122 109.4*
2009 8,200 2009 10 0.1 2010 2,700 32.9 2011 4,697 57.3 7,407 90.3
2010 6,565 2010 12 0.2 2011 3,000 45.7 2012 2,648 40.3 5,660 86.2
2011 7,493 2011 0 0 2012 2,673 35.7 2013 3,706 49.5 6,379 85.1
2012 7,363 2012 0 0 2013 2,841 38.6 2014 3,863 52.5 6,704 91.1
2013 7,801 2013 0 0 2014 3,202 41.1
2014 6,981 2014 95 1.4
Western Isles 2003 6,456 2003 82 1.3 2004 2,647 41.0 2005 2,377 36.8 5,106 79.1
2004 8,399 2004 0 0 2005 2,578 30.7 2006 4,081 48.6 6,659 79.3
2005 6,675 2005 0 0 2006 1,426 21.4 2007 3,133 46.9 4,559 68.3
2006 8,853 2006 0 0 2007 1,799 20.3 2008 2,855 32.2 4,654 52.6
2007 5,800 2007 0 0 2008 1,513 26.1 2009 3,320 57.2 4,833 83.3
2008 5,214 2008 0 0 2009 1,789 34.3 2010 2,231 42.8 4,020 77.1
2009 9,177 2009 0 0 2010 3,579 39.0 2011 3,743 40.8 7,322 79.8
2010 7,870 2010 0 0 2011 4,110 52.2 2012 2,375 30.2 6,485 82.4
2011 8,711 2011 7 0.1 2012 4,778 54.9 2013 2,358 27.1 7,143 82.0
2012 8,027 2012 0 0 2013 4,827 60.1 2014 2,037 25.4 6,864 85.5
2013 10,100 2013 0 0 2014 5,254 52.0
2014 9,451 2014 0 0

* The survival of the 2008 smolt input in the South West is over 100% due to the practice of putting smolts to sea in one region and subsequently moving them to another sea water site in another region for harvest.

Staffing

Table 31: Number of staff employed in the production of salmon during 2004-2014

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Staff F/T 1,019 851 790 798 849 874 944 923 944 1,081 1,191
P/T 142 128 81 118 100 89 120 90 115 99 134
Total staff 1,161 979 871 916 949 963 1,064 1,013 1,059 1,180 1,325
Productivity (tonnes/person) 136.2 132.4 151.4 141.8 135.5 149.8 144.9 156.0 153.2 138.3 135.1

In 2014, the total number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,325, an increase of 145 compared with 2013. The staffing figures collected refer specifically to the production of Atlantic salmon and do not include figures for staff involved with processing or marketing activities. Productivity decreased from 138.3 to 135.1 tonnes produced per person.

Production Methods

Table 32: Production methods, capacity, tonnage and average stocking densities (kg/m 3) during 2012-2014

Method Number of sites Total capacity
(000's cubic metres)
Production
(tonnes)
2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014
Seawater tanks 2 4 3 5.9 6.0 6.1 64 34 0
Seawater cages 255 253 257 17,889 19,064 19,481 162,159 163,200 179,022
For cage sites: ratio of production (kg) to cage capacity (m 3) 9.1 8.6 9.2

In 2014, all fish were produced in seawater cages and there was no production from seawater tank sites. This reflects the high installation and running costs incurred in operating seawater tank systems. Most seawater tank capacity has been re-deployed for the production of other species of marine fin fish or salmon broodstock.

Sea cage capacity increased by 417,000 m 3 during 2014 and the number of sea cage sites in production increased by four. Production efficiency in sea cages, measured as the ratio of fish weight in kilograms produced per cubic metre, increased to 9.2 kg/m 3. In cage sites, the ratio of production (expressed in kilograms) to cage capacity (expressed in cubic metres) was 9.1, 8.6 and 9.2 in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Figure 3: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2014

Figure 3: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2014

Scale of Production by Site

Table 33: Number of sites shown in relation to their production grouping and percentage share of production 2004-2014

Production grouping (tonnes) 0 1-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501-1,000 >1,000 Total
Sites* Tonnes
2004 122 10 7 25 41 55 55 315 158,099
2005 112 8 13 16 41 37 51 278 129,588
2006 95 10 10 16 29 30 62 252 131,847
2007 89 9 8 19 33 34 55 247 129,930
2008 118 7 9 15 22 29 57 257 128,606
2009 104 12 12 10 33 25 58 254 144,247
2010 109 5 6 10 33 22 64 249 154,164
2011 106 9 7 9 28 29 66 254 158,018
2012 115 3 5 9 25 33 67 257 162,223
2013 112 9 3 12 18 36 67 257 163,234
2014 117 8 1 9 26 29 70 260 179,022
2004 0 0.1 0.4 2.4 9.4 26.1 61.6 - -
2005 0 0.2 0.7 1.9 10.8 20.5 65.9 - -
2006 0 0.2 0.6 1.8 7.9 15.9 73.6 - -
2007 0 0.2 0.4 2.3 8.3 19.0 69.8 - -
2008 0 0.1 0.5 1.6 5.8 15.9 76 - -
2009 0 0.2 0.6 1.0 7.7 13.0 77.5 - -
2010 0 0.1 0.3 0.9 7.3 10.8 80.6 - -
2011 0 0.2 0.3 0.8 6.4 13.4 78.9 - -
2012 0 <0.1 0.2 0.9 5.0 15.0 78.8 - -
2013 0 0.1 0.1 1.1 4.0 16.7 78.0 - -
2014 0 0.1 <0.1 0.8 5.0 12.0 82.0 - -

* Includes farms stocked but having no production.

In 2014, the number of sites with no production rose by five whilst the number producing 1 to 500 tonnes increased by two. Despite the number of sites producing over 500 tonnes decreasing by four, there was still a continuing the trend towards production in larger sites with an increase of three in the number of sites producing over 1000 tonnes.

Company Productivity

Table 34: Number of companies grouped by production (tonnes), manpower and productivity (tonnes per person) during 2013-2014

Total Tonnage 0-100 101-200 201-400 401-700 701-1,000 1,001-2,000 >2,000 Total
No. of companies 2013 9 1 1 1 1 1 7 21
2014 8 0 1 1 1 1 6 18
No. of tonnes 2013 38 144 232 493 890 1,278 160,159 163,234
2014 50 0 221 530 730 1,153 176,338 179,022
Manpower (total) 2013 17 7 3 2 5 29 1,117 1,180
2014 18 0 3 31 5 6 1,262 1,325
Productivity (tonnes/person) 2013 2 21 77 247 178 44 143 138
2014 3 0 74 17 146 192 140 135

The greatest productivity of 192 tonnes per person was achieved in the companies producing 1,001-2,000 tonnes. The least productivity of three tonnes per person was from the companies producing the smallest tonnages. In comparison with 2013, the average company productivity decreased from 138 to 135 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by six companies in 2014 which between them accounted for 99% of Scotland's farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Manpower and Production by Production Area

Table 35: Manpower and production (tonnes) by area 2005-2014 and projected production in 2015

Region Year Staff Annual Production Productivity
(t/person)
Year of input Grilse Pre-salmon Salmon
F/T P/T Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg)
North West 2005 267 31 32,439 109 0 - 8,816 3.9 10,608 4.7 13,015 4.6
2006 203 23 40,219 178 211 1.8 8,742 4.2 16,995 4.6 14,271 4.8
2007 277 44 33,541 104 40 1.7 6,674 4.1 13,212 4.9 13,615 4.7
2008 280 34 41,250 131 125 1.8 7,817 4.2 15,997 4.5 17,311 4.7
2009 256 32 35,295 122 75 1.8 9,777 4.7 15,860 5.6 9,583 5.2
2010 294 44 47,353 140 239 2.0 15,895 4.4 17,837 5.1 13,382 5.0
2011 303 38 41,656 122 174 3.2 13,152 4.3 16,879 5.1 11,451 5.7
2012 300 40 50,987 150 301 2.4 31,121 4.7 5,842 4.7 13,723 4.9
2013 350 48 43,320 109 0 - 17,937 4.9 16,417 4.7 8,966 5.1
2014 348 46 50,873 129 511 2.7 26,440 5.3 8,731 5.5 15,191 5.8
2015 56,912*
Orkney 2005 47 4 5,183 102 0 - 989 3.5 805 4.1 3,389 3.5
2006 72 3 3,724 50 0 - 509 3.1 1,689 3.9 1,526 3.7
2007 41 7 4,432 92 0 - 196 3.9 1,657 4.3 2,579 4.3
2008 60 5 5,716 88 0 - 811 4.2 1,747 4.3 3,158 5.4
2009 47 2 6,220 127 0 - 754 4.6 1,793 5.2 3,673 4.9
2010 58 2 9,388 156 0 - 1,221 4.1 2,279 5.1 5,888 5.3
2011 69 0 6,369 92 0 - 3,508 5.1 2,355 5.4 506 5.3
2012 65 6 11,694 165 0 - 3,532 5.3 2,720 5.1 5,442 5.8
2013 86 3 11,479 129 0 - 3,191 5.1 4,491 5.7 3,797 5.0
2014 90 6 13,029 136 0 - 980 5.5 5,045 6.0 7,004 6.0
2015 12,485*
Shetland 2005 162 33 38,946 200 0 - 3,424 4.4 16,296 4.7 19,226 4.7
2006 190 18 39,278 189 0 - 3,765 4.3 16,134 4.9 19,379 4.8
2007 182 25 40,795 197 0 - 2,663 4.5 17,838 4.5 20,294 4.9
2008 202 26 42,593 187 91 1.9 3,970 4.1 13,982 3.9 24,550 4.6
2009 188 22 43,785 208 65 2.3 4,873 3.3 16,183 4.6 22,664 4.6
2010 178 23 45,439 226 0 - 3,624 4.9 17,179 5.0 24,636 5.3
2011 189 22 35,493 168 118 2.4 4,611 4.7 16,071 5.1 14,693 4.5
2012 188 16 43,010 211 0 - 6,083 4.3 15,784 4.5 21,143 4.9
2013 210 14 36,694 164 0 - 5,822 4.5 18,121 4.9 12,751 4.7
2014 224 24 46,369 187 0 - 6,196 5.7 17,604 5.5 22,569 5.6
2015 45,608*
South West 2005 188 36 33,056 148 0 - 4,675 4.7 11,430 5.0 16,951 4.6
2006 181 22 25,460 125 0 - 2,467 4.4 7,920 5.3 15,073 5.5
2007 162 36 31,353 158 0 - 4,309 4.1 7,069 4.3 19,975 4.8
2008 173 21 20,584 106 0 - 1,212 4.0 3,108 4.6 16,264 4.7
2009 199 23 35,726 161 38 3.5 4,615 4.6 15,988 5.1 15,085 4.6
2010 231 39 27,751 103 29 2.5 6,032 4.2 7,118 5.7 14,572 4.9
2011 212 17 37,157 162 0 - 3,618 4.8 10,899 4.8 22,640 4.8
2012 221 24 26,850 110 0 - 9,315 5.4 4,508 4.8 13,027 4.9
2013 251 19 34,924 129 0 - 5,847 4.8 9,111 5.6 19,966 5.4
2014 279 29 34,976 114 209 2.2 4,278 5.1 10,476 4.4 20,013 5.2
2015 41,572*
Western Isles 2005 187 24 19,964 95 0 - 5,068 3.8 5,627 4.5 9,269 3.9
2006 144 15 23,166 146 0 - 2,679 4.0 3,199 4.3 17,288 4.2
2007 136 6 19,809 140 0 - 1,969 3.8 5,303 4.2 12,537 4.0
2008 134 14 18,463 125 0 - 1,486 3.8 4,629 4.1 12,348 4.3
2009 184 10 23,221 120 0 - 3,838 4.1 3,940 4.6 15,443 4.6
2010 183 12 24,233 124 0 - 2,961 3.7 11,680 4.2 9,592 4.3
2011 150 13 37,343 229 15 2.1 10,257 4.7 9,755 5.0 17,316 4.6
2012 170 29 29,682 149 0 - 3,165 3.7 15,674 4.0 10,843 4.6
2013 184 15 36,817 185 0 - 14,699 5.2 10,525 5.2 11,593 4.9
2014 250 29 33,775 121 0 - 8,792 4.5 13,455 4.1 11,528 5.7
2015 29,931*
Scotland Total 2005 851 128 129,588 132 0 - 22,972 4.1 44,766 4.7 61,850 4.4
2006 790 81 131,847 151 211 1.8 18,162 4.2 45,937 4.7 67,537 4.7
2007 798 118 129,930 142 40 1.7 15,811 4.1 45,079 4.5 69,000 4.6
2008 849 100 128,606 135 216 1.9 15,296 4.1 39,463 4.2 73,631 4.6
2009 874 89 144,247 150 178 2.2 23,857 4.2 53,764 5.0 66,448 4.7
2010 944 120 154,164 145 268 2.1 29,733 4.3 56,093 4.9 68,070 5.0
2011 923 90 158,018 156 307 2.8 35,146 4.6 55,959 5.0 66,606 4.8
2012 944 115 162,223 153 301 2.4 53,216 4.7 44,528 4.4 64,178 4.9
2013 1,081 99 163,234 138 0 - 47,496 4.9 58,665 5.0 57,073 5.1
2014 1,191 134 179,022 135 720 2.5 46,686 5.2 55,311 4.9 76,305 5.6
2015 186,508*

*Estimated production for 2015.

Company and Site Data

Table 36: Number of companies and sites engaged in the production of Atlantic salmon during 2004-2014

Year Number of companies Number of sites
Producing Non-producing Total Producing Non- producing Total
2004 57 12 69 193 122 315
2005 40 10 50 166 112 278
2006 32 12 44 157 95 252
2007 28 10 38 158 89 247
2008 26 9 35 139 118 257
2009 25 6 31 150 104 254
2010 20 10 30 140 109 249
2011 21 6 27 148 106 254
2012 16 6 22 142 115 257
2013 15 6 21 145 112 257
2014 11 7 18 143 117 260

The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2014 was 11, a decrease of four from 2013. Seven companies remained active and authorised, although not producing salmon for harvest in 2014. This continued the trend of Atlantic salmon production becoming concentrated within fewer companies. These 18 companies had 260 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest in 2014.

Fallowing

Table 37: Number of seawater cage sites employing a fallow period during 2005-2014

Year Fallow Period (weeks) Total
0 <4 4-8 9-26 27-51 52
2005 75 11 36 86 37 33 278
2006 67 10 44 74 37 20 252
2007 67 16 41 61 38 24 247
2008 53 16 28 92 40 28 257
2009 51 3 30 86 46 37 253
2010 53 8 26 83 41 36 247
2011 60 10 31 85 27 39 252
2012 58 4 31 97 28 37 255
2013 51 4 31 92 35 43 253
2014 48 4 36 89 29 51 257

Of the 257 seawater cage sites recorded as being active in 2014, 51 sites were fallow for the entire year whilst 206 sites were fallow for a variable period. There were 48 sites that did not fallow in 2014. The normal production cycle in seawater varies in length between 18 months and two years and a fallow period at the end of production can break the cycle of disease or parasitic infections.

Broodstock Sites

Table 38: Number of sites holding Atlantic salmon broodstock during 2003-2014

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Broodstock sites 20 15 15 17 20 20 11 10 11 7 8 8

In 2014, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock remained at eight. The number of sites holding broodstock in any one year can be variable, as can be seen from the previous years' figures, which indicate no obvious trend. A total of 2,711 fish were stripped, yielding 33.5 million ova, giving an average yield of 12,357 ova per fish.

Organic Production

Table 39: Organic production of Atlantic salmon during 2010-2014

Year Number of active cage sites Number of cage sites certified as organic Production (tonnes)
2010 247 14 6,122
2011 252 10 3,104
2012 255 7 4,597
2013 253 8 5,207
2014 257 8 3,588

Of the 257 active Atlantic salmon seawater cage sites in 2014, eight were certified as organic, producing 3,588 tonnes. This is the fifth year that data on organic production has been reported.

Escapes

There were 10 incidents involving the loss of 184,613 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon sites in 2014. There were two additional incidents reported where the companies confirmed there was no loss of fish.

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