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.


3. Atlantic Salmon - Production

Production

Production survey information was collected from all 12 companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 221 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Table 24: Annual production of salmon (tonnes) during 1998-2018 and projected production in 2019

Year Tonnes Percentage difference Year Tonnes Percentage difference
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 171,722 -4.1
2005 129,588 -18 2016 162,817 -5.2
2006 131,847 2 2017 189,707 16.5
2007 129,930 -1.4 2018 156,025 -17.8
2008 128,606 -1 2019 190,499*

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

The total production of Atlantic salmon during 2018 was 156,025 tonnes, a decrease of 33,682 tonnes (17.8%) on the 2017 total.

Table 25: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) per year class during 2009-2018

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) 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
2015 2015 223 626 2.8
2016 2016 114 333 2.9
2017 2017 0 0 -
2018 2018 84 247 2.9
Harvest in year 1 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
2014 2015 24,038 114,112 4.7
2015 2016 24,633 111,163 4.5
2016 2017 25,596 126,445 4.9
2017 2018 21,825 110,554 5.1
Harvest in year 2 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
2013 2015 10,910 56,984 5.2
2014 2016 10,940 51,321 4.7
2015 2017 11,094 63,262 5.7
2016 2018 7,165 45,224 6.3

Table 26: Number (000’s) and production (tonnes) of grilse and pre-salmon harvested during 2009-2018

Year Grilse (January-August) Pre-salmon (September-December)
Number Tonnes Average weight (kg) Number Tonnes Average
weight (kg)
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
2015 11,243 53,930 4.8 12,795 60,182 4.7
2016 13,463 59,853 4.4 11,170 51,310 4.6
2017 13,523 68,116 5.0 12,073 58,329 4.8
2018 10,815 53,244 4.9 11,010 57,310 5.2

Table 27: Percentage (by weight) of annual production by growth stage harvested during 2009-2018

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Growth stage - - - - - - - - - -
Input year fish <1 <1 <1 <1 0 <1 <1 <1 0 <1
Grilse 16 19 22 33 29 26 31 37 36 34
Pre-salmon 37 36 35 27 36 31 35 31 31 36
Year 2 salmon 46 44 42 39 35 42 33 31 33 29

Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes

Table 28: Survival and production in smolt year classes during 1999-2018

Year of smolt input Smolt input (000’s) Harvest year 0 Harvest year 1 Harvest year 2 Total % of year class harvested
(survival)
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
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 10,910 56,984 5.2 26.7 76.3 158,981 3.88
2014 48,112 286 720 2.5 0.6 24,038 114,112 4.7 50.0 10,940 51,321 4.7 22.7 73.3 166,153 3.45
2015 45,465 223 626 2.8 0.5 24,633 111,163 4.5 54.2 11,094 63,262 5.7 24.4 79.1 175,051 3.85
2016 42,957 114 333 2.9 0.3 25,596 126,445 4.9 59.6 7,165 45,224 6.3 16.7 76.6 172,002 4.00
2017 46,116 0 - - 0 21,825 110,554 5.1 47.3
2018 45,375 84 247 2.9 0.2

In 2016, the last year for which survival can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest decreased to 76.6%. Of the 2017 year class, 47.3% of the input has been harvested, 12.6% lower than the average harvest of fish one year after input in the 2016 year class. In 2018, there was 0.2% fish harvested from the 2018 input. This was an increase compared with the proportion of fish harvested from the same year class in 2017.

Smolts to Sea

Table 29: Number (000’s) and origin of smolts put to sea during 2009-2018

Year Smolts put to sea (000’s) Total
(000’s)
Scottish Origin
%
English Origin Other Origin
S1 S1½ (000’s) % (000’s) %
2009 14,967 23,581 0 38,548 95 1,700 4 105 <1
2010 14,069 24,421 0 38,490 95 1,541 4 120 <1
2011 17,721 25,012 0 42,733 96 1,765 4 0 0
2012 17,334 23,480 280 41,094 96 1,510 4 0 0
2013 19,262 21,534 140 40,936 97 1,169 3 0 0
2014 23,758 24,212 142 48,112 94 893 2 2,072 4
2015 22,886 22,569 10 45,465 96 938 2 1,082 2
2016 22,052 20,905 0 42,957 97 1,048 2 611 1
2017 25,490 20,626 0 46,116 97 976 2 300 <1
2018 21,629 23,746 0 45,375 96 1,318 3 364 1

The total number of smolts put to sea in 2018 was 45.4 million. This smolt input comprised S1s (52.3%) and S½s (47.7%). There were no S1½s put to sea in 2018 and no S2s have been put to sea since 2001. Four percent of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland, 1% of which came from sources outwith GB. This was an increase of just over 1% compared with the proportion observed in 2017.

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 2007-2018

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 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 116 1.3 2009 4,897 53.8 2010 2,687 29.5 7,700 84.6
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 2015 1,695 15.4 8,244 75.1
2014 17,543 2014 191 1.1 2015 9,649 55.0 2016 3,768 21.5 13,608 77.6
2015 8,646 2015 223 2.6 2016 6,122 70.8 2017 1,695 19.6 8,040 93.0
2016 14,534 2016 114 0.8 2017 9,711 66.8 2018 1,882 12.9 11,707 80.5
2017 9,527 2017 0 0 2018 3,809 40.0
2018 15,177 2018 84 0.6
Orkney 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 2015 512 24.3 1,535 72.9
2014 2,829 2014 0 0 2015 1,412 49.9 2016 1,244 44.0 2,656 93.9
2015 3,266 2015 0 0 2016 1,580 48.4 2017 1,521 46.6 3,101 95.0
2016 3,050 2016 0 0 2017 1,184 38.8 2018 1,571 51.5 2,755 90.3
2017 3,524 2017 0 0 2018 1,699 48.2
2018 3,478 2018 0 0
Shetland 2007 14,947 2007 0 0 2008 4,610 30.8 2009 4,930 33.0 9,540 63.8
2008 13,929 2008 0 0 2009 4,992 35.8 2010 4,659 33.4 9,651 69.2
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 2015 3,034 30.5 7,323 73.6
2014 11,309 2014 0 0 2015 5,042 44.6 2016 2,663 23.5 7,705 68.1
2015 9,040 2015 0 0 2016 5,322 58.9 2017 1,592 17.6 6,914 76.5
2016 10,640 2016 0 0 2017 6,012 56.5 2018 1,723 16.2 7,735 72.7
2017 8,539 2017 0 0 2018 4,579 53.6
2018 11,312 2018 0 0
South West 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 49.4 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 41.0 2015 3,564 45.7 6,766 86.7
2014 6,981 2014 95 1.4 2015 3,771 54.0 2016 2,023 29.0 5,889 84.4
2015 11,156 2015 0 0 2016 4,944 44.3 2017 3,643 32.7 8,587 77.0
2016 8,093 2016 0 0 2017 4,643 57.4 2018 1,622 20.0 6,265 77.4
2017 11,106 2017 0 0 2018 5,330 48.0
2018 7,177 2018 0 0
Western Isles 2007 5,800 2007 0 0 2008 1,433 24.7 2009 3,320 57.2 4,753 81.9
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 2015 2,105 20.8 7,359 72.8
2014 9,451 2014 0 0 2015 4,164 44.1 2016 1,242 13.1 5,406 57.2
2015 13,357 2015 0 0 2016 6,665 49.9 2017 2,643 19.8 9,308 69.7
2016 6,640 2016 0 0 2017 4,046 60.9 2018 367 5.5 4,413 66.4
2017 13,420 2017 0 0 2018 6,408 47.7
2018 8,231 2018 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.

Figure 3: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2018

Figure 3: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2018

Staffing

Table 31: Number of staff employed in the production of salmon during 2009-2018

Year Full-time Male Full-time Female Total Full-time Part-time Male Part-time Female Total Part-time Total Staff Productivity
(tonnes/person)
2009 806 68 874 61 28 89 963 149.8
2010 854 90 944 86 34 120 1,064 144.9
2011 847 76 923 62 28 90 1,013 156.0
2012 870 74 944 80 35 115 1,059 153.2
2013 997 84 1,081 74 25 99 1,180 138.3
2014 1,082 109 1,191 98 36 134 1,325 135.1
2015 1,125 131 1,256 70 37 107 1,363 126.0
2016 1,182 197 1,379 67 40 107 1,486 109.6
2017 1,175 145 1,320 59 10 69 1,389 136.6
2018 1,273 142 1,415 35 16 51 1,466 106.4

In 2018, the total number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,466, an increase of 77 compared with 2017. 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 136.6 to 106.4 tonnes produced per person.

Production Methods

Table 32: Production methods, capacity, tonnage and average stocking densities (kg/m3) during 2016-2018

Method Number of sites Total capacity
(000’s cubic metres)
Production (tonnes)
2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018
Seawater tanks 5 4 4 7.4 5.7 7.1 21 26 35
Seawater cages 248 222 217 20,067 19,108 19,922 162,796 189,681 155,990
For cage sites: ratio of production (kg) to cage capacity (m3) 8.1 9.9 7.8

In 2018, the majority of fish were produced in seawater cages. There were 35 tonnes of production from seawater tank sites in 2018. 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 finfish or salmon broodstock.

Sea cage capacity increased by 814,000 m3 during 2018 and the number of sea cage sites in production decreased by five. Production efficiency in sea cages, measured as the ratio of fish weight in kilograms produced per cubic metre, decreased from 9.9kg/m3 in 2017 to 7.8 kg/m3 in 2018.

Scale of Production by Site

Table 33: Number of sites shown in relation to their production grouping and percentage share of production 2009-2018

Production grouping (tonnes) 0 1-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501-1,000 >1,000 Total
Sites* Tonnes
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
2015 115 2 1 9 26 26 75 254 171,722
2016 117 3 3 9 22 26 73 253 162,817
2017 93 2 0 8 13 33 77 226 189,707
2018 100 6 2 6 17 26 64 221 156,025
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 - -
2015 0 <0.1 <0.1 0.9 5.0 11.6 82.4 - -
2016 0 <0.1 0.1 0.8 4.6 11.7 82.8 - -
2017 0 <0.1 0 0.6 3.2 13.9 82.3 - -
2018 0 <0.1 <0.1 0.6 3.7 13.5 82.0 - -

* Includes farms stocked but having no production.

In 2018, the number of sites with no production increased by seven and the number producing 1 to 500 tonnes increased by eight. The number of sites producing over 500 tonnes decreased by 20 but there continues to be a trend towards production in larger sites, with 82.0% of production being derived from sites producing over 1000 tonnes.

Company Productivity

Table 34: Number of companies grouped by production (tonnes), staff and productivity (tonnes per person) during 2017-2018

Total Tonnage 0-100 101-200 201-400 401-700 701-1,000 1,001-2,000 >2,000 Total
No. of companies 2017 5 0 0 0 0 1 6 12
2018 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 12
No. of tonnes 2017 26 0 0 0 0 1,864 187,817 189,707
2018 35 0 0 0 866 0 155,124 156,025
Staff
(total)
2017 10 0 0 0 0 31 1,348 1,389
2018 7 0 0 0 35 0 1,424 1,466
Productivity
(tonnes/person)
2017 3 - - - - 60 139 137
2018 5 - - - 25 - 109 106

The greatest productivity of 109 tonnes per person was achieved in the companies producing over 2000 tonnes. The least productivity of 5 tonnes per person was from the companies producing between 0-100 tonnes. In comparison with 2017, the average company productivity decreased from 137 to 106 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by six companies in 2018 which between them accounted for 99% of Scotland’s farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Staff and Production by Production Area

Table 35: Staff and production (tonnes) by area 2009-2018 and projected production in 2019

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 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 382 66 54,741 122 626 2.8 18,046 4.8 26,897 4.6 9,172 5.4
2016 538 30 46,917 83 333 2.9 21,576 4.7 7,515 5.0 17,493 4.6
2017 437 11 55,690 124 0 - 32,113 5.1 14,920 4.4 8,657 5.1
2018 453 17 30,948 66 247 2.9 11,899 4.9 7,780 5.6 11,022 5.9
2019 62,820*
Orkney 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 93 1 11,074 118 0 - 1,386 5.0 6,129 5.4 3,559 6.9
2016 102 8 14,752 134 0 - 3,491 4.6 4,668 5.7 6,593 5.3
2017 108 9 16,756 143 0 - 3,215 5.3 3,823 6.6 9,718 6.4
2018 93 0 20,956 225 0 - 2,808 5.2 6,906 6.0 11,242 7.2
2019 14,661*
Shetland 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 228 19 42,786 173 0 - 11,134 5.4 14,939 5.0 16,713 5.5
2016 200 23 37,464 168 0 - 11,844 4.4 12,906 4.9 12,714 4.8
2017 207 12 38,908 178 0 - 14,132 4.6 15,284 5.2 9,492 6.0
2018 206 3 35,947 172 0 - 12,741 5.4 12,835 5.8 10,371 6.0
2019 40,460*
South West 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 302 12 35,911 114 0 - 10,356 4.7 6,686 4.3 18,869 5.3
2016 305 26 31,022 94 0 - 12,349 4.3 9,246 4.4 9,427 4.7
2017 316 18 44,575 133 0 - 11,206 5.7 12,903 4.8 20,466 5.6
2018 375 14 37,506 96 0 - 9,690 5.1 17,246 5.0 10,570 6.5
2019 38,760*
Western Isles 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 251 9 27,210 105 0 - 13,008 4.4 5,531 4.5 8,671 4.1
2016 234 20 32,662 129 0 - 10,593 4.2 16,975 4.1 5,094 4.1
2017 252 19 33,778 125 0 - 7,450 4.7 11,399 4.6 14,929 5.6
2018 288 17 30,668 101 0 - 16,106 4.5 12,543 4.4 2,019 5.5
2019 33,798*
Scotland Total 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 1,256 107 171,722 126 626 2.8 53,930 4.8 60,182 4.7 56,984 5.2
2016 1,379 107 162,817 110 333 2.9 59,853 4.4 51,310 4.6 51,321 4.7
2017 1,320 69 189,707 137 0 - 68,116 5.0 58,329 4.8 63,262 5.7
2018 1,415 51 156,025 106 247 2.9 53,244 4.9 57,310 5.2 45,224 6.3
2019 190,499*

*Estimated production for 2019.

Company and Site Data

Table 36: Number of companies and sites engaged in the production of Atlantic salmon during 2009-2018

Year Number of companies Number of sites
Producing Non-producing Total Producing Non- producing Total
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
2015 10 6 16 139 115 254
2016 10 5 15 136 117 253
2017 8 4 12 133 93 226
2018 8 4 12 121 100 221

The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2018 was eight, the same as in 2017. Four companies remained active and authorised, although not producing salmon for harvest in 2018. This continued the trend of Atlantic salmon production becoming concentrated within fewer companies. These 12 companies had 221 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest in 2018.

Fallowing

Table 37: Number of seawater cage sites employing a fallow period during 2009-2018

Year Fallow Period (weeks) Total
0 <4 4-8 9-26 27-51 52
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
2015 45 6 41 84 27 47 250
2016 47 5 27 88 32 49 248
2017 40 9 21 88 24 40 222
2018 46 5 32 76 26 32 217

Of the 217 seawater cage sites recorded as being active in 2018, 32 sites were fallow for the entire year whilst 139 sites were fallow for a variable period. There were 46 sites that did not fallow in 2018. The normal production cycle in seawater varies in length between 12 months and two years. 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 2009-2018

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Broodstock sites 11 10 11 7 8 8 4 3 4 4

In 2018, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock remained the same with four sites. 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 2,114 fish were stripped, yielding 15.2 million ova, giving an average yield of 7,190 ova per fish.

Organic Production

Table 39: Organic production of Atlantic salmon during 2010-2018

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
2015 250 5 2,382
2016 248 5 3,903
2017 222 5 4,644
2018 217 5 4,219

Of the 217 active Atlantic salmon seawater cage sites in 2018, five were certified as organic, producing 4,219 tonnes.

Escapes

There were five incidents involving the loss of 47,726 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon sites in 2018. There were eight additional incidents reported where the companies confirmed there was no loss of fish.

Contact

Email: Lorna.Munro@gov.scot

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