Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2021

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.

*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.

Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes

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

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

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.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 OS (100024655)

Staffing

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

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

* 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

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

*Estimated production for 2022.

Company and Site Data

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

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

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

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.