Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2021

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland during 2021. Statistics on employment, production and value are presented.


3. Atlantic Salmon - Production

Production

Production survey information was collected from all 12 companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 213 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Table 24: Annual production of salmon (tonnes) during 2001-2021 and projected production in 2022
Year Tonnes Percentage difference Year Tonnes Percentage difference
2001 138,519 7 2012 162,223 3
2002 144,589 4 2013 163,234 1
2003 169,736 17 2014 179,022 10
2004 158,099 -7 2015 171,722 -4
2005 129,588 -18 2016 162,817 -5
2006 131,847 2 2017 189,707 17
2007 129,930 -1 2018 156,025 -18
2008 128,606 -1 2019 203,881 31
2009 144,247 12 2020 192,129 -6
2010 154,164 7 2021 205,393 7
2011 158,018 3 2022 189,693*

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

The total production of Atlantic salmon during 2021 was 205,393 tonnes, an increase of 13,264 tonnes (7%) on the 2020 total. This was the highest level of production recorded in Scotland.

Table 25: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) per year class during 2012-2021
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) 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
2019 2019 319 931 2.9
2020 2020 323 1,208 3.7
2021 2021 16 34 2.1
Harvest in year 1 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
2018 2019 26,324 132,090 5.0
2019 2020 28,529 141,775 5.0
2020 2021 29,697 144,695 4.9
Harvest in year 2 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
2017 2019 12,212 70,860 5.8
2018 2020 8,883 49,146 5.5
2019 2021 10,602 60,664 5.7
Table 26: Number (000’s) and production (tonnes) of grilse and pre-salmon harvested during 2012-2021
Year Grilse (January-August) Pre-salmon (September-December)
Number Tonnes Average weight (kg) Number Tonnes Average weight (kg)
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
2019 14,495 72,243 5.0 11,829 59,847 5.1
2020 17,855 85,543 4.8 10,674 56,232 5.3
2021 18,512 93,346 5.0 11,185 51,349 4.6
Table 27: Percentage (by weight) of annual production by growth stage harvested during 2012-2021
Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Growth stage - - - - - - - - - -
Input year fish <1 0 <1 <1 <1 0 <1 <1 <1 <1
Grilse 33 29 26 31 37 36 34 35 45 45
Pre-salmon 27 36 31 35 31 31 36 29 29 25
Year 2 salmon 39 35 42 33 31 33 29 35 26 30

Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes

Table 28: Survival and production in smolt year classes during 2002-2021
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
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 - 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 - 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 - 0 21,825 110,554 5.1 47.3 12,212 70,860 5.8 26.5 73.8 181,414 3.93
2018 45,513 84 247 2.9 0.2 26,324 132,090 5.0 57.8 8,883 49,146 5.5 19.5 77.5 181,483 3.99
2019 52,990 319 931 2.9 0.6 28,529 141,775 5.0 53.8 10,602 60,664 5.7 20.0 74.4 203,370 3.84
2020 52,492 323 1,208 3.7 0.6 29,697 144,695 4.9 56.6
2021 51,131 16 34 2.1 0.03

In 2019, the last year for which survival can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest decreased to 74.4%. Of the 2020 year class, 57.2% of the input has been harvested, 2.8% higher than the average harvest of fish one year after input in the 2019 year class. In 2021, 0.03% of the fish were harvested from the 2021 input. This was a decrease compared with the proportion of fish harvested from the same year class in 2020.

Smolts to Sea

Table 29: Number (000’s) and origin of smolts put to sea during 2012-2021
Year Smolts put to sea (000’s) Total (000’s) Scottish Origin English Origin Other Origin
S1 S1½ % (000’s) % (000’s) %
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 21,767 23,746 0 45,513 96 1,318 3 364 <1
2019 24,525 28,465 0 52,990 98 751 1 297 <1
2020 24,809 27,683 0 52,492 96 1,070 2 1,130 2
2021 29,421 21,396 314 51,131 97 1,016 2 300 <1

The total number of smolts put to sea in 2021 was over 51.1 million. This smolt input comprised S½s (58%), S1s (42%) and S1½s (<1%). Just under 3% of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland, less than 1% of which came from sources outwith GB. This was a decrease of just under 2% compared with the proportion observed in 2020.

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 2010-2021
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 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 2019 1,739 18.3 5,548 58.2
2018 15,177 2018 84 0.6 2019 10,947 72.1 2020 1,852 12.2 12,883 84.9
2019 15,071 2019 205 1.4 2020 7,838 52.0 2021 1,976 13.1 10,019 66.5
2020 19,075 2020 126 0.7 2021 12,443 65.2
2021 13,868 2021 10 0.1
Orkney 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 2019 835 23.7 2,534 71.9
2018 3,616 2018 0 0 2019 2,068 57.2 2020 1,382 38.2 3,450 95.4
2019 4,670 2019 0 0 2020 2,230 47.8 2021 1,970 42.2 4,200 89.9
2020 4,578 2020 0 0 2021 2,162 47.2
2021 4,469 2021 0 0
Shetland 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 2019 2,005 23.5 6,584 77.1
2018 11,312 2018 0 0 2019 4,430 39.2 2020 2,527 22.3 6,957 61.5
2019 7,613 2019 114 1.5 2020 4,241 55.7 2021 2,186 28.7 6,541 85.9
2020 10,072 2020 84 0.8 2021 5,246 52.1
2021 10,090 2021 0 0
South West 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 2019 3,648 32.8 8,978 80.8
2018 7,177 2018 0 0 2019 4,799 66.9 2020 1,150 16.0 5,949 82.9
2019 11,100 2019 0 0 2020 6,126 55.2 2021 2,094 18.9 8,220 74.1
2020 9,485 2020 112 1.2 2021 5,248 55.3
2021 10,013 2021 0 0
Western Isles 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 2019 3,985 29.7 10,393 77.4
2018 8,231 2018 0 0 2019 4,080 49.6 2020 1,972 24.0 6,052 73.5
2019 14,536 2019 0 0 2020 8,094 55.7 2021 2,377 16.4 10,471 72.0
2020 9,282 2020 0 0 2021 4,599 49.5
2021 12,691 2021 6 <0.1

The practice of putting smolts to sea in one region and subsequently moving them to another sea water site in another region for harvest can lead to an overestimation of survival in some regions and underestimation in others.

Figure 3: The regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2021
This is a map showing the distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in Scotland in 2021. The map is split into 6 areas: Shetland, Orkney, North West, East & South, West and Western Isles and has black dots showing where each site is on the map.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 OS (100024655)

Staffing

Table 31: Number of staff employed in the production of salmon during 2012-2021
Year Full-time Male Full-time Female Total Full-time Part-time Male Part-time Female Total Part-time Total Staff Productivity (tonnes/person)
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
2019 1,425 166 1,591 35 25 60 1,651 123.5
2020 1,412 145 1,557 45 28 73 1,630 117.9
2021 1,308 133 1,441 27 27 54 1,495 137.4

In 2021, the total number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,495, a decrease of 135 compared with 2020. 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 increased from 117.9 to 137.4 tonnes produced per person.

Production Methods

Table 32: Production methods, capacity, tonnage and average stocking densities (kg/m 3) during 2019-2021
Method Number of sites Total capacity (000’s cubic metres) Production (tonnes)
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021
Seawater tanks 2 1 1 6.3 5.1 5.6 28 18 14
Seawater cages 224 231 212 21,628 22,818 22,187 203,853 192,111 205,379
For cage sites: ratio of production (kg) to cage capacity (m3) 9.4 8.4 9.3

In 2021, the majority of fish were produced in seawater cages. There were 14 tonnes of production from seawater tank sites in 2021. 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 decreased by 631,000 m3 during 2021 and the number of sea cage sites in production decreased by 19. Production efficiency in sea cages, measured as the ratio of fish weight in kilograms produced per cubic metre, increased from 8.4 kg/m3 in 2020 to 9.3 kg/m3 in 2021.

Scale of Production by Site

Table 33: Number of sites shown in relation to their production grouping and percentage share of production 2012-2021
Production grouping (tonnes) Total
0 1-500 501-1,000 1,001-2,000 2,001-3,000 3,001-4,000 >4,000 Sites* Tonnes
2012 115 42 33 42 19 6 0 257 162,223
2013 112 42 36 50 8 7 2 257 163,234
2014 117 44 29 37 22 9 2 260 179,022
2015 115 38 26 56 11 6 2 254 171,722
2016 117 37 26 50 18 4 1 253 162,817
2017 91 25 33 50 20 4 3 226 189,707
2018 100 31 26 39 21 2 2 221 156,025
2019 80 33 24 60 17 9 3 226 203,881
2020 101 32 18 43 27 7 4 232 192,129
2021 73 28 25 50 25 9 3 213 205,393
2012 0 6 15 38 28 13 0 - -
2013 0 5 17 45 11 16 6 - -
2014 0 6 12 29 30 18 5 - -
2015 0 6 12 50 15 12 5 - -
2016 0 5 12 44 27 9 3 - -
2017 0 4 14 40 26 7 9 - -
2018 0 4 14 39 32 5 6 - -
2019 0 3 10 45 20 15 7 - -
2020 0 3 7 34 34 12 10 - -
2021 0 3 9 37 28 15 8 - -

* Includes farms stocked but having no production.

For the 2021 survey report production grouping categories were re-evaluated to give better resolution of the data. In 2021, the number of sites with no production decreased by 28 and the number producing 1 to 1,000 tonnes increased by three. The number of sites producing 1,000 to 4,000 tonnes increased by seven and sites producing over 4,000 tonnes decreased by one. The trend towards production in larger sites continued, with 87% of production being derived from sites producing over 1,000 tonnes.

Company Productivity

Table 34: Number of companies grouped by production (tonnes), staff and productivity (tonnes per person) during 2020-2021
Total Tonnage 0-1,000 1,001-5,000 5,001-10,000 10,001-30,000 >30,000 Total
No. of companies 2020 4 1 1 2 3 11
2021 3 3 1 2 3 12
No. of tonnes 2020 18 1,722 5,862 47,194 137,333 192,129
2021 14 5,213 6,149 43,388 150,629 205,393
Staff (total) 2020 36 40 78 511 965 1,630
2021 16 75 93 466 845 1,495
Productivity (tonnes/person) 2020 0.5 43 75 92 142 118
2021 0.9 70 66 93 178 137

For the 2021 survey report production categories were re-evaluated to give better resolution of the data. The greatest productivity of 178 tonnes per person was achieved in the companies producing over 30,000 tonnes. The least productivity of 0.9 tonnes per person was from the companies producing between 0-1,000 tonnes. In comparison with 2020, the average company productivity increased from 118 to 137 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by three companies in 2021 which between them accounted for 73% of Scotland’s farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Staff and Production by Production Area

Table 35: Staff and production (tonnes) by area 2012-2021 and projected production in 2022
Region Year Staff Annual Production Productivity (t/person) Year of input Grilse Pre-salmon Year 2 Salmon
F/T P/T Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg) Tonnes Mean weight (kg)
North West 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 662 32 66,633 96 472 2.3 35,020 5.0 21,873 5.5 9,268 5.3
2020 546 19 48,762 86 539 4.2 24,065 4.7 13,852 5.2 10,306 5.7
2021 442 18 70,062 156 21 2.2 42,463 5.0 17,151 4.3 10,427 5.3
2022 48,596*
Orkney 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 110 1 17,758 160 0 - 6,393 5.9 5,952 6.1 5,413 6.5
2020 138 13 21,612 143 0 - 4,383 5.8 8,875 6.0 8,354 6.0
2021 136 3 24,407 176 0 - 3,565 5.4 8,066 5.4 12,776 6.5
2022 19,518*
Shetland 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 227 6 36,141 155 459 4.0 11,478 5.2 12,451 5.6 11,753 5.9
2020 280 12 40,749 140 356 4.2 13,970 5.7 11,167 6.3 15,256 6.0
2021 276 10 43,770 148 0 - 15,644 5.7 14,074 5.6 14,052 6.4
2022 47,194*
South West 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 338 7 44,881 130 0 - 8,071 5.4 13,846 4.2 22,964 6.3
2020 331 17 36,367 105 313 2.8 16,394 4.9 13,519 4.8 6,141 5.3
2021 340 7 36,085 104 0 - 18,830 5.3 5,965 3.5 11,290 5.1
2022 38,711*
Western Isles 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 254 14 38,468 144 0 - 11,281 4.1 5,725 4.2 21,462 5.4
2020 262 12 44,639 163 0 - 26,731 4.3 8,819 4.6 9,089 4.6
2021 247 16 31,069 118 13 2.1 12,844 5.0 6,093 4.6 12,119 5.1
2022 35,674*
Scotland Total 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 1,591 60 203,881 124 931 2.9 72,243 5.0 59,847 5.1 70,860 5.8
2020 1,557 73 192,129 118 1,208 3.7 88,025 4.8 57,808 5.3 45,088 5.5
2021 1,441 54 205,393 137 34 2.1 93,346 5.0 51,349 4.6 60,664 5.7
2022 189,693*

*Estimated production for 2022.

Company and Site Data

Table 36: Number of companies and sites engaged in the production of Atlantic salmon during 2012-2021
Year Number of companies Number of sites
Producing Non-producing Total Producing Non- producing Total
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
2019 8 3 11 146 80 226
2020 8 3 11 131 101 232
2021 10 2 12 140 73 213

The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2021 was 10, two more than in 2020. Two companies remained active and authorised, although not producing salmon for harvest in 2021. These 12 companies had 213 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest in 2021.

Fallowing

Table 37: Number of seawater cage sites employing a fallow period during 2012-2021
Year Fallow Period (weeks) Total
0 <4 4-8 9-26 27-51 52
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
2019 37 12 31 85 22 37 224
2020 57 8 33 74 14 45 231
2021 29 11 32 85 29 26 212

Of the 212 seawater cage sites recorded as being active in 2021, 26 sites were fallow for the entire year whilst 157 sites were fallow for a variable period. There were 29 sites that did not fallow in 2021. 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 2012-2021
Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Broodstock sites 7 8 8 4 3 4 4 3 4 4

In 2021, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock remained at 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 4,335 fish were stripped, yielding 46.3 million ova, giving an average yield of 10,670 ova per fish.

Organic Production

Table 39: Organic production of Atlantic salmon during 2012-2021
Year Number of active cage sites Number of cage sites certified as organic Production (tonnes)
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
2019 224 4 4,462
2020 231 9 12,528
2021 212 12 18,285

Of the 212 active Atlantic salmon seawater cage sites in 2021, 12 were certified as organic, producing 18,285 tonnes.

Escapes

There was one incident involving the loss of 19,686 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon sites in 2021. There were 14 additional incidents reported where the companies confirmed there was no loss of fish.

Contact

Email: lorna.munro@gov.scot

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