Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2015

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


4. Other Species

The Scottish aquaculture industry has continued to farm other species of fish during 2015. The production of brown trout ( Salmo trutta) showed a small decrease, with the majority of the production being for the angling restocking market. Production of halibut ( Hippoglossus hippoglossus) also decreased while there was a very small amount of Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus) produced. There was no cod ( Gadus morhua) production during 2015. Lumpsucker ( Cyclopterus lumpus) and several species of wrasse (Labridae) were also produced in 2015. The production of lumpsucker and wrasse are targeted at the marine Atlantic salmon industry where they are used as a biological control for parasites.

Company, Site and Production Data

Table 40: Number of companies and sites producing other species in 2015, annual production of other species (tonnes) during 2012-2015 and estimated production in 2016

Species No. of companies No. of sites 2012 Production tonnage 2013 Production tonnage 2014 Production tonnage 2015 Production tonnage 2016 Production tonnage*
Arctic charr 1 1 0.2 0 0
Brown trout/ sea trout 14 18 42 44 48 42 58
Cod 0 0 0 0 0
Halibut 2 3 73 56 66 56 90
Lumpsucker 4 4 0 0 5 6 15
Wrasse spp 3 4 0.1 0.1 3 7

* Industry estimates based on stocks currently being on-grown.
† Production occurred but this cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.
∞ The estimated production for 2016 cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

Staffing

Table 41: Number of staff employed in farming other species during 2006-2015

Year Full-time Part-time Total
2006 92 17 109
2007 75 29 104
2008 80 44 124
2009 23 22 45
2010 19 24 43
2011 24 19 43
2012 25 21 46
2013 29 21 50
2014 29 20 49
2015 35 15 50

In 2015, the overall number of staff employed in the production of other species increased by one.

Production of Cleaner fish

Table 42: Number of cleaner fish produced during 2015

Species Number of Fish Produced (000s)
Lumpsucker 235
Wrasse spp. 75

In recent years lumpsucker and wrasse spp. have been produced for use as a biological control for parasites in the marine Atlantic salmon industry. Data on the number of fish produced has only been collected since 2015. As data for future years is collected it will show trends in cleaner fish production.

Ova Laid Down to Hatch

Table 43: Source of ova from other species laid down to hatch during 2015

Species Source of ova laid down to hatch (000s)
Own broodstock Other GB broodstock Foreign ova
Brown trout/sea trout 450 0 0
Halibut 4,000 0 0
Lumpsucker 0 1,746 600
Wrasse spp. 8,000 0 0

Trade in Small Fish

Table 44: Trade in small fish of other species in 2015

Species Bought (000s) Sold (000s)
Halibut 40 66
Brown trout/sea trout 168 163
Lumpsucker 994 494
Wrasse spp. 0 25

There was also a small amount of production of: brook charr ( Salvelinus fontinalis); carp ( Cyprinus carpio); sheepshead minnow ( Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus); tiger trout ( Salmo trutta x Salvelinus fontinalis) and turbot ( Scophthalmus maximus). However, due to the small number of companies in production, it is not possible to summarise these data without revealing the production of individual companies.

Organic Production

Of the 30 sites recorded as producing other species in 2015, no organic production was reported.

Escapes

There were no reported escapes from sites rearing other species during 2015.

Contact

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

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