Scottish fish farm production survey 2017

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


4. Other Species

The Scottish aquaculture industry has continued to farm other species of fish during 2017. The production of brown trout (Salmo trutta) showed an increase, with the majority of production being for the angling restocking market. In 2017 there was production of halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) but the figure cannot be published without revealing the production from an individual company. No Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) or cod (Gadus morhua) were produced during 2017. Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) and several species of wrasse (Labridae) were also produced in 2017. 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 2017, annual production of other species (tonnes) during 2014-2017 and estimated production in 2018

Species

No. of companies

No. of sites

2014
Production tonnage

2015
Production tonnage

2016
Production tonnage

2017
Production tonnage

2018
Production tonnage*

Arctic charr

0

0

0

t

0

0

0

Brown trout/

sea trout

11

12

48

42

41

61

27

Cod

0

0

t

0

0

0

0

Halibut

1

3

66

56

67

t

Lumpsucker

4

6

5

6

10

26

37

Wrasse spp.

3

4

0.1

3

4

4

5

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

t Production occurred but this cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

‡ Estimate provided but cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

Staffing

Table 41: Number of staff employed in farming other species during 2008-2017

Year

Full-time

Part-time

Total

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

2016

43

20

63

2017

45

17

62

In 2017, the overall number of staff employed in the production of other species decreased by one, to 62 staff.

Production of Cleaner fish

Table 42: Number (000’s) of cleaner fish produced during 2015-2017

Species

Number of fish produced (000’s)

2015

2016

2017

Lumpsucker

235

262

925

Wrasse spp.

75

118

58

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 2017

Species

Source of ova laid down to hatch (000’s)

Own broodstock

Other GB broodstock

Foreign ova

Brown trout/sea trout

489

7

0

Halibut

§

0

0

Lumpsucker

0

100

1,200

Wrasse spp.

2,935

0

0

§ Own broodstock ova was laid down to hatch but this cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

Trade in Small Fish

Table 44: Trade in small fish of other species in 2017

Species

Bought (000’s)

Sold (000’s)

Halibut

#

#

Brown trout/sea trout

56

0

Lumpsucker

5,033

454

Wrasse spp.

0

44

# During 2017 there was trade of small halibut but figures cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

There was also a small amount of production of: brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) and tiger trout (Salmo trutta x Salvelinus fontinalis). 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 25 sites recorded as producing other species in 2017, no organic production was reported.

Escapes

There were two incidents involving the loss of 776 cleaner fish (283 lumpsucker and 493 wrasse) from sites rearing seawater salmon during 2017.

Contact

Lorna.Munro@gov.scot

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