Scottish fish farm production survey 2018

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


Executive Summary

The tables below summarise the results from the 2018 fish farms annual production survey.

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss

2017 2018
Total production (tonnes) 7,637 6,413
Production for the table (tonnes) 6,997 5,874
Production for restocking (tonnes) 640 539
Number of staff employed 132 136
Mean productivity (tonnes/person) 57.9 47.2
Number of ova laid down to hatch (millions) 7.0 6.3
Number of ova imported (millions) 6.5 5.8

In 2018, the production of rainbow trout decreased by 1,224 tonnes. Employment increased by four staff and mean productivity decreased to 47.2 tonnes per person. The number of ova laid down to hatch decreased by 0.7 million and the number of ova imported decreased by 0.7 million.

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Smolts

2017 2018
Number of ova produced (millions) 12.6 15.2
Number of ova laid down to hatch (millions) 65.7 70.5
Number of ova exported (millions) 0.3 0.02
Number of ova imported (millions) 57.9 65.8
Number of smolts produced (millions) 46.2 47.1
Number of smolts put to sea (millions) 46.1 45.4
Number of staff employed 291 278
Mean productivity (000’s smolts/person) 158.6 169.4

The production of ova increased by 2.6 million in 2018 and the number of ova laid down to hatch increased by 4.8 million. A very small amount of ova were exported in 2018 (0.02 million) and the number of ova imported increased by 7.9 million from the 2017 figure. The number of smolts produced increased by 0.9 million. In 2018 the number of staff decreased by 13 and mean productivity increased by 10,800 smolts per person.

Production fish

2017 2018
Total production (tonnes) 189,707 156,025
Production of 0-year fish (tonnes) 0 247
Production of grilse (tonnes) 68,116 53,244
Production of pre-salmon (tonnes) 58,329 57,310
Production of salmon (tonnes) 63,262 45,224
Mean fish weight 0-year (kg) - 2.9
Mean fish weight grilse (kg) 5.0 4.9
Mean fish weight pre-salmon (kg) 4.8 5.2
Mean fish weight salmon (kg) 5.7 6.3
Number of staff employed 1,389 1,466
Mean productivity tonnes/person 136.6 106.4

Production tonnage decreased by 33,682 tonnes with an increase in the mean harvest weight of pre-salmon and salmon but a decrease in the mean weight of grilse. Staff numbers increased by 77 and mean productivity decreased to 106.4 tonnes per person.

Smolt survival (percentage harvested)

Survival (%) Years 0+1 Year 2 Total
2015 input year class 54.7 24.4 79.1
2016 input year class 59.9 16.7 76.6

The smolt survival rate for the 2016 input year class decreased to 76.6%.

Other Species

Including brown/sea trout (Salmo trutta); halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus); lumpsucker(Cyclopterus lumpus) and several species of wrasse (Labridae).

2017 2018
Total production (tonnes) 91a 40a
Number of staff employed (full-time) 45 45
(part-time) 17 15
Number of ova laid down to hatch (millions) 4.7b 38.9b
Number of ova imported (millions) 1.2 1.5

Some figures are excluded from this report as providing them would reveal production information from an individual company.

a Excluding halibut production.

b Excluding halibut ova laid down to hatch.

In 2018, the production of other species decreased by 51 tonnes from the 2017 total, although this figure does not include halibut production. Overall, employment decreased by two in 2018. There was an increase in the number of ova laid down to hatch during 2018 and again any halibut ova laid down to hatch were excluded from this figure.

Number of Confirmed Escape Incidents from Fish Farms Notified to the Scottish Government

Species Number of reported incidents which could have led to an escape of farmed fish Number of reported incidents which did lead to an escape of farmed fish Number of fish escaped
Rainbow trout 0 2 5,575
Atlantic salmon (freshwater stages) 0 0 0
Atlantic salmon (seawater stages) 8 5 47,726
Other Species (from sites rearing seawater Atlantic salmon) 0 0 0

Contact

Email: Lorna.Munro@gov.scot

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