Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2019

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland during 2019. Statistics on employment, production and value are presented.


4. Other Species

The Scottish aquaculture industry has continued to farm other species of fish during 2019. The production of brown/sea trout (Salmo trutta) showed an increase, with the majority of production being for the angling restocking market. In 2019 there was production of halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) but the figure cannot be published without revealing the production from an individual company. Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) and several species of wrasse (Labridae) were also produced in 2019. 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 2019, annual production of other species (tonnes) during 2016-2019 and projected production in 2020
Species No. of companies No. of sites 2016
Production tonnage
2017
Production tonnage
2018
Production tonnage
2019
Production tonnage
2020
Production tonnage*
Brown/sea trout 8 9 41 61 20 25 24
Halibut 1 3 67 t t t
Lumpsucker 2 3 10 26 14 13 21
Wrasse spp. 2 3 4 4 6 3 10

* 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 2010-2019
Year Full-time Male Full-time Female Total Full-time Part-time Male Part-time Female Total Part-time Total Staff
2010 18 1 19 20 4 24 43
2011 22 2 24 17 2 19 43
2012 22 3 25 19 2 21 46
2013 26 3 29 17 4 21 50
2014 25 4 29 17 3 20 49
2015 33 2 35 11 4 15 50
2016 38 5 43 14 6 20 63
2017 37 8 45 13 4 17 62
2018 37 8 45 11 4 15 60
2019 32 6 38 10 5 15 53

In 2019, the overall number of staff employed in the production of other species decreased by seven, to 53 staff.

Production of Cleaner fish

Table 42: Number (000’s) of cleaner fish produced during 2015-2019
Species Number of fish produced (000’s)
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Lumpsucker 235 262 925 553 660
Wrasse spp. 75 118 58 103 59

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 2019
Species Source of ova laid down to hatch (000’s)
Own broodstock Other GB broodstock Foreign ova
Brown/sea trout 10 0 57
Halibut § 0 0
Lumpsucker 0 0 1,200
Wrasse spp. 12,000 6,500 0

Trade in Small Fish

Table 44: Trade in small fish of other species in 2019
Species Bought (000’s) Sold (000’s)
Halibut # #
Brown/sea trout 57 18

# During 2019 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 20 sites recorded as producing other species in 2019, no organic production was reported.

Escapes

There were no reported escapes from sites rearing other species during 2019.

Contact

Email: lorna.munro@gov.scot

Back to top