Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2015

Report based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses.


1. Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Production survey information was collected from all 24 companies actively involved in rainbow trout production, farming 45 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Production

Table 1a: Annual production (tonnes) of rainbow trout during 2001-2015 and projected production in 2016

Year Tonnes Year Tonnes
2001 5,466 2009 6,766
2002 6,659 2010 5,139
2003 7,085 2011 4,619
2004 6,352 2012 5,670
2005 6,989 2013 5,611
2006 7,492 2014 5,882
2007 7,414 2015 8,588
2008 7,670 2016 7,415*

* Industry estimate based on stocks currently being on-grown.

Production increased in 2015 by 2,706 tonnes, an increase of 46%, to 8,588 tonnes. This was the highest ever level of rainbow trout production recorded is Scotland.

Table 1b: Production (tonnes) for the table trade during 2005-2015 according to weight category

Year <450 g
<1 lb
450-900 g
1-2 lbs
>900 g
>2 lbs
Total
Tonnes
2005 2,856 1,203 2,111 6,170
2006 2,182 1,810 2,636 6,628
2007 2,499 1,663 2,407 6,569
2008 2,375 1,950 2,487 6,812
2009 2,232 1,143 2,620 5,995
2010 2,125 727 1,606 4,458
2011 1,421 1,004 1,433 3,858
2012 1,195 1,655 2,209 5,059
2013 1,908 825 2,268 5,001
2014 2,334 290 2,704 5,328
2015 2,299 258 5,476 8,033

Production for the table in 2015 was 8,033 tonnes, an increase of 2,705 tonnes (51%) on the 2014 total, and accounted for 94% of the total rainbow trout production, an increase on the proportion to that produced in 2014. Also an increase in the number of fish in the large size range and a decrease in the number of fish in the small and medium size ranges were highlighted.

Table 1c: Production (tonnes) for the restocking trade during 2005-2015 according to weight category

Year <450 g
<1 lb
450-900 g
1-2 lbs
>900 g
>2 lbs
Total
Tonnes
2005 21 390 408 819
2006 36 357 471 864
2007 24 413 408 845
2008 27 351 480 858
2009 32 294 444 770
2010 19 201 461 681
2011 8 419 334 761
2012 22 266 323 611
2013 24 221 365 610
2014 28 256 270 554
2015 15 158 382 555

In 2015, production for the restocking of angling waters increased to 555 tonnes representing an increase of one tonne (0.2%) on the 2014 total. This accounted for 6% of total rainbow trout production in 2015. These figures represent the tonnage of fish supplied to angling waters for restocking purposes; they do not account for the catch taken by anglers. The production of large sized fish showed an increase, while there was a decrease for small and medium sized fish.

Production by Site

Table 2: Numbers of sites grouped by tonnage produced during 2005-2015

Year Number of sites per production tonnage Total number of sites
<1-25 26-100 101-200 >200
2005 18 12 6 11 47
2006 16 15 6 13 50
2007 14 15 3 16 48
2008 8 15 7 14 44
2009 10 11 7 11 39
2010 7 13 9 7 36
2011 9 10 6 8 33
2012 10 10 6 8 34
2013 6 11 5 8 30
2014 6 11 5 9 31
2015 4 10 5 11 30

Production was reported from 30 of the 45 active sites. The number of producers in the size brackets <1-25 tonnes, 26-100 tonnes decreased while those producers in the 101-200 tonnes bracket remained the same and those in the >200 tonnes size bracket increased. These figures do not include those sites specialising in the production of ova or young fish for on-growing.

Production by Method

Table 3: Grouping of rainbow trout sites by production tonnages, main methods of production in 2015 and comparison with production in 2014

Production method Production grouping (tonnes) in 2015 Total tonnage and (%) by method Number of sites
<10 10-25 26-50 51-100 >100 2014 2015 2014 2015
FW cages 1 0 0 0 5 2,611 (44.4%) 2,433 (28.3%) 5 6
FW ponds and raceways 0 0 8 1 5 1,291 (21.9%) 1,405 (16.4%) 17 14
FW tanks and hatcheries 3 0 0 1 0 71 (1.2%) 72 (0.8%) 4 4
SW cages 0 0 0 0 6 1,909 (32.5%) 4,678 (54.5%) 5 6
SW tanks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 8 2 16 5,882 8,588 31 30

Freshwater production accounted for 3,910 tonnes (45.5%) and seawater production for the remaining 4,678 tonnes (54.5%). Production from seawater cages increased whilst there was a decrease in production from freshwater cages.

Company and Site Data

Table 4: Number of companies and sites in production during 2002-2015

Year No. of companies No. of sites
2002 39 57
2003 37 56
2004 38 62
2005 42 70
2006 36 66
2007 38 70
2008 31 66
2009 27 56
2010 25 51
2011 23 48
2012 25 48
2013 24 46
2014 24 46
2015 24 45

In 2015 the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government and actively engaged in rainbow trout production was 24. The number of sites registered and in production was 45.

Staffing and Productivity

Table 5: Number of staff employed and productivity per person during 2002-2015

Year Full-time Part-time Total Productivity (tonnes/person)
2002 114 46 160 41.6
2003 107 41 148 47.9
2004 115 37 152 41.8
2005 108 35 143 48.9
2006 112 35 147 51.0
2007 111 32 143 51.8
2008 107 34 141 54.4
2009 111 27 138 49.0
2010 98 31 129 39.8
2011 95 23 118 39.1
2012 79 28 107 53.0
2013 89 21 110 51.0
2014 93 20 113 52.1
2015 110 16 126 68.2

The overall number of staff employed in 2015 increased by 13 to 126. The number of full-time staff increased by 17 while the number of part-time staff decreased by four. Productivity, measured as tonnes produced per person, increased by 31% in 2015 with no distinction between full and part-time employees being made for this calculation.

Production by Area

Table 6: Production and staffing by area in 2015

Area No. of sites Table production (tonnes) Restocking production (tonnes) Mean tonnes per site Staffing Productivity (tonnes/person)
F/T P/T Total
North 6 2 26 4.7 7 2 9 3.1
East 12 962 255 101.4 38 5 43 28.3
West 13 6,115 40 473.5 46 3 49 125.6
South 14 954 234 84.9 19 6 25 47.5
All 45 8,033 555 190.8 110 16 126 68.2

Productivity was greatest in the West at 473.5 tonnes per site and 125.6 tonnes per person.

The distribution of active Rainbow Trout sites in 2015
Figure 1:
The distribution of active Rainbow trout sites in 2015

Type of Ova Laid Down

Table 7: Number (000s) and proportions (%) of eyed ova types laid down to hatch during 2004-2015

Year All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%) Total ova
2004 29,272 (90) 3,146 (10) 138 (<1) 32,556
2005 16,773 (83) 1,729 (8) 1,745 (9) 20,247
2006 22,378 (84) 2,804 (10) 1,626 (6) 26,808
2007 23,630 (83) 2,531 (9) 2,140 (8) 28,301
2008 22,978 (88) 2,526 (9) 725 (3) 26,229
2009 15,469 (87) 2,341 (13) 35 (<1) 17,845
2010 13,352 (89) 1,052 (7) 675 (4) 15,079
2011 12,673 (84) 2,254 (15) 215 (1) 15,142
2012 10,967 (85) 2,005 (15) 7 (<1) 12,979
2013 7,857 (80) 1,955 (20) 77 (<1) 9,889
2014 8,321 (75) 2,710 (25) 9 (<1) 11,040
2015 10,245 (85) 1,800 (15) 76 (<1) 12,121

Source of Ova Laid Down

Table 8: Number (000s) and sources of eyed ova laid down to hatch in 2004-2015

Year Ova produced in Great Britain ( GB) Imported ova Total
Own stock Other stock Total Northern hemisphere Southern hemisphere Total
2004 330 320 650 31,906 0 31,906 32,556
2005 281 105 386 16,977 2,884 19,861 20,247
2006 541 2,169 2,710 22,588 1,510 24,098 26,808
2007 936 230 1,166 26,650 485 27,135 28,301
2008 582 487 1,069 25,160 0 25,160 26,229
2009 603 220 823 17,022 0 17,022 17,845
2010 415 50 465 14,614 0 14,614 15,079
2011 215 189 404 14,738 0 14,738 15,142
2012 14 230 244 12,735 0 12,735 12,979
2013 77 537 614 9,275 0 9,275 9,889
2014 9 655 664 10,376 0 10,376 11,040
2015 6 888 894 11,227 0 11,227 12,121

In 2015, the total number of eyed ova laid down to hatch increased by just under 1.1 million (9.8%) on the 2014 figure. The proportion of ova from GB broodstock increased to 7.4% of the total and the rainbow trout industry remained reliant on imported ova. Data on the importation of ova into Scotland are also available from the health certificates and are shown in Table 9a. Any discrepancy between the figures in Tables 8 and 9a is due to data being obtained from two independent sources.

Imports from Official Import Health Certificates

Table 9a: Number (000s) and sources of ova imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2008-2015

Source 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Denmark 5,530 4,070 1,715 5,250 1,950 1,315 2,500 2,330
Isle of Man 775 290 1,400 520 300 800 1,000 175
N. Ireland 16,130 10,090 9,247 7,320 8,332 5,125 4,780 6,535
Norway 1,500 750 200 130 300 175 710 670
USA 1,490 2,240 2,340 1,580 1,800 2,350 1,700 1,675
Totals 25,425 17,440 14,902 14,800 12,682 9,765 10,690 11,385

Table 9b: Seasonal variation in numbers (000s) and sources of ova imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2015

Month Denmark Isle of Man N. Ireland Norway USA
January 60 0 1,150 220 0
February 0 0 0 0 0
March 100 0 750 350 0
April 0 175 665 100 0
May 970 0 0 0 0
June 0 0 0 0 1,325
July 0 0 320 0 175
August 75 0 1,370 0 0
September 200 0 1,230 0 175
October 0 0 1,050 0 0
November 0 0 0 0 0
December 925 0 0 0 0
Totals 2,330 175 6,535 670 1,675

Table 9c: Number (000s) and sources of fish imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2008-2015

Source 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
N. Ireland 33 0 <1 72 155 537 674 746
Republic of Ireland 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Suppliers within the European Union ( EU) accounted for 79.4% of ova imported into Scotland during 2015 with the USA and Norway accounting for 14.7% and 5.9% respectively. To maintain their ability to regulate production throughout the year and produce a constant supply of fish for their markets, producers have to rely upon supplies of out of season ova. In recent years there has been an increasing trend for producers to import part grown rainbow trout into Scotland from outwith GB.

Trade in Fry and Fingerlings

Table 10: Number (000s) of fry and fingerlings traded during 2004-2015

Year Fry and fingerlings bought Total number bought Total number sold
All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%)
2004 18,859 (91) 1,536 (7) 364 (2) 20,759 19,166
2005 14,618 (83) 1,532 (9) 1,480 (8) 17,630 16,919
2006 19,731 (89) 1,675 (7) 790 (4) 22,196 20,460
2007 14,830 (89) 1,140 (7) 675 (4) 16,645 23,631
2008 24,298 (95) 1,082 (4) 118 (0.5) 25,498 31,036
2009 21,113 (94) 1,358 (6) 0 22,471 20,597
2010 15,539 (95) 585 (4) 141 (1) 16,265 14,686
2011 16,288 (88.5) 1,970 (10.7) 138 (0.8) 18,396 16,612
2012 12,543 (91) 1,226 (9) 0 13,769 12,088
2013 6,734 (84) 1,239 (16) 0 7,973 6,749
2014 5,911 (81) 1,423 (19) 0 7,334 6,719
2015 6,104 (87) 598 (9) 290 (4) 6,992 6,971

The established trade between hatcheries and on-growing farms continued in 2015. Some companies specialised in the production of fry and fingerlings. The total number of fry and fingerlings sold increased by 3.8% while the number bought decreased by 4.7%. The disparity between supply and demand is due to trade with England and Wales.

Use of Vaccines

Table 11: Number of sites rearing fish vaccinated against enteric redmouth disease ( ERM) and number of fish vaccinated (millions) during 2004-2015

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
No. of sites 42 37 31 28 28 31 27 26 24 19 21 17
No. of fish 30.6 30.0 36.4 41.4 29.1 27.5 20.0 20.3 20.4 9.9 10.0 8.3

Vaccines continued to be used as a preventative treatment against enteric redmouth disease ( ERM), a potentially serious bacterial infection, caused by Yersinia ruckeri. Vaccination is generally carried out as a bath treatment at the fingerling stage, although some vaccines are administered by intra-peritoneal injection. A total of 8.3 million fish were vaccinated on 17 sites.

Organic Production

Of the 45 sites recorded as being active in rainbow trout production in 2015, none were certified as organic.

Escapes

There was one incident involving the loss of 2,091 fish from a rainbow trout site in 2015.

Contact

Email: Lorna Munro, lorna.munro@gov.scot

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