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.
4. Other Species
The Scottish aquaculture industry has continued to farm other species of fish during 2021. The production of brown/sea trout (Salmo trutta) showed a small decrease, with the majority of production being for the angling restocking market. In 2020 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 2021. The production of lumpsucker and wrasse are targeted at the marine Atlantic salmon industry where they are used as a biological control for parasites. Lumpsucker and wrasse figures were amalgamated into a single cleaner fish category as separate publication of lumpsucker data would reveal the production of an individual company.
Company, Site and Production Data
| Species | No. of companies | No. of sites | 2018 Production tonnage | 2019 Production tonnage | 2020 Production tonnage | 2021 Production tonnage | 2022 Production tonnage* | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown/sea trout | 8 | 9 | 20 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 | |||||||||
| Halibut | 1 | 3 | † | † | † | † | ‡ | |||||||||
| Cleaner fish▲ | 2 | 4 | 20 | 16 | 19 | 38 | 23 | |||||||||
* Industry estimates based on stocks currently being on-grown.
† 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.
▲ Amalgamated lumpsucker and wrasse figures (excluding larval stage fish)
Staffing
| Year | Full-time Male | Full-time Female | Total Full-time | Part-time Male | Part-time Female | Total Part-time | Total Staff | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 2020 | 19 | 3 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 35 | ||
| 2021 | 22 | 6 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 41 |
In 2021, the overall number of staff employed in the production of other species increased by six, to 41.
Production of Cleaner fish
| Species | Number of fish produced (000’s) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Cleaner fish▲ | 310 | 380 | 983 | 656 | 719 | 576 | 689 |
▲ Amalgamated lumpsucker and wrasse figures (excluding larval stage fish)
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. These figures do not include production of larval stage cleaner fish which may be traded for on-growing at facilities outside of Scotland, shortly after hatching.
Ova Laid Down to Hatch
| Species | Source of ova laid down to hatch (000’s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Own broodstock | Other GB broodstock | Foreign ova | |
| Brown/sea trout | 10 | 88 | 0 |
| Halibut | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleaner fish▲ | 59,204 | 0 | 700 |
▲ Amalgamated lumpsucker and wrasse figures
Trade in Small Fish
| Species | Bought (000’s) | Sold (000’s) |
|---|---|---|
| Brown/sea trout | 26 | 17 |
| Halibut | # | 0 |
| Cleaner fish▲ | 900 | 60,104 |
▲ Amalgamated lumpsucker and wrasse figures
# During 2021 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) 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 16 sites recorded as producing other species in 2021, no organic production was reported.
Escapes
There were no reported escapes from sites rearing other species during 2021.
Contact
Email: lorna.munro@gov.scot
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