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Publication - Statistics

Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023

Published
30 October 2024
From
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Directorate
Marine Directorate
Topic
Marine and fisheries
ISBN
9781836019213

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland during 2023. Statistics on employment, production and value are presented.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

2. Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) - Ova and Smolts

Production survey information was collected from all 18 companies actively involved in the freshwater production of Atlantic salmon, farming 67 active sites. This figure represents the entire freshwater sector operating in Scotland.

Company and Site Data

Table 12: Number of companies and sites in production during 2014-2023.
Year No. of companies No. of sites
2014 26 96
2015 25 87
2016 26 87
2017 24 79
2018 24 71
2019 23 76
2020 24 78
2021 22 74
2022 21 70
2023 18 67

In 2023, the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government for freshwater production of Atlantic salmon decreased by three to 18. A total of 67 sites were actively engaged in commercial production, a decrease of three from the 2022 figure.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 12.

Production and Staffing

Table 13: Number (000’s) of smolts produced, staff employed and smolt productivity during 2014-2023.
Year Number (000’s) of smolts produced Total Full-time Staff Total Part-time Staff Total Staff Productivity (000’s) smolts per person
2014 45,004 244 65 309 145.6
2015 44,571 239 55 294 151.6
2016 42,894 252 42 294 145.9
2017 46,152 250 41 291 158.6
2018 47,097 239 39 278 169.4
2019 51,430 247 34 281 183.0
2020 50,492 263 29 292 172.9
2021 51,198 262 29 291 175.9
2022 55,057 264 31 295 186.6
2023 51,524 285 20 305 168.9

A full break down of staff numbers by gender can be found in the: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 13.

Smolt production in 2023 decreased by 6% compared to 2022. The number of staff employed in 2023 increased by 10 and productivity decreased by 9% to a figure of 168,900 smolts produced per person.

Smolts by Age Group

Table 14: Number of smolts (000’s) produced by type during 2014-2023.
Year S½ S1 S1½ Total
2014 22,367 22,473 164 45,004
2015 23,850 20,711 10 44,571
2016 25,072 17,822 0 42,894
2017 28,072 18,080 0 46,152
2018 24,058 23,039 0 47,097
2019 25,607 25,823 0 51,430
2020 22,872 27,620 0 50,492
2021 30,175 20,709 314 51,198
2022 26,587 28,470 0 55,057
2023 26,619 24,905 0 51,524

In 2023, there was a small increase,less than 1%, in the number of S½ smolts produced and a decrease of 13% in the number of S1 smolts produced. There was no production of S1½ smolts during 2023.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 14.

Production Systems

Table 15a: Number of production systems during 2019-2023.
Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Pens 27 27 26 23 18
Tanks and Raceways 49 51 48 47 49
Total 76 78 74 70 67
Table 15b: Total capacity, 000’s cubic metres, by production system during 2019-2023.
Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Pens 351 379 374 364 342
Tanks and Raceways 68 62 65 63 85
Total 419 441 439 427 427

The types of facility used for the production of smolts in freshwater are pens or tanks and raceways. In 2023, the number of farms using pens deceased by five and the number of farms using tanks and raceways increased by two. In terms of volume, pen capacity decreased by 22,000 m³ and tank and raceway capacity increased by 22,000 m³. This resulted in total volume available for the production of smolts in Scotland remaining the same as the total volume in 2022.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 15.

Table 16a: Number (000’s) of smolts produced during 2019-2023.
Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Pens 18,964 18,331 19,344 20,310 19,162
All others 32,466 32,161 31,854 34,747 32,362
Total 51,430 50,492 51,198 55,057 51,524
Table 16b: Stocking densities by production system during 2019-2023.
Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Pens 54 48 52 56 56
All others 477 519 490 552 381
Total - - - - -

The average stocking densities of pens remained at 56 smolts per m³ in 2023, while densities in tanks and raceways decreased from 552 to 381 smolts per m³.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 16.

Ova Production

Table 17: Number (000’s) of salmon ova produced during 2014-2023.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
No. of ova 33,450 11,605 13,689 12,631 15,228 11,618 20,021 46,255 53,195 56,036

In 2023, over 56 million ova were stripped, an increase of 5% from the number of ova produced in 2022.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 17.

Table 18: Source, number (000’s), previous year’s estimate of ova laid down to hatch during 2014-2023 and projected production for 2024.
Year In-house broodstock Out-sourced GB broodstock GB wild broodstock Imported ova Total Previous year’s estimate
2014 14,418 2,725 10 53,684 70,837 48,149
2015 6,479 223 10 61,463 68,175 65,284
2016 5,884 4 0 58,458 64,346 59,604
2017 6,228 360 0 59,158 65,746 60,673
2018 8,780 200 0 61,499 70,479 67,374
2019 5,516 1,724 75 63,931 71,246 71,571
2020 5,195 4,480 258 68,685 78,618 70,598
2021 6,383 22,581 124 43,707 72,795 68,588
2022 2,906 29,871 0 45,761 78,538 77,306
2023 3,446 32,988 13 38,248 74,695 73,096
2024 79,002

The number of ova laid down to hatch was 74.7 million, a decrease of 3.8 million (5%) on the 2022 figure. Imported ova accounted for 51% ova laid down to hatch, this was a decrease of 7.5 million (5%) on the 2022 figure. Supplies derived from GB broodstock (excluding wild origin ova) increased by 3.7 million, an 11% increase on the 2022 figure. In 2023, 13,000 ova from GB wild broodstock were laid down to hatch, ova derived from wild stocks are generally held and hatched for wild stock enhancement by the aquaculture sector in cooperation with wild fisheries managers.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 18.

Smolts Produced and Put to Sea

Table 19: Actual and projected smolt production and smolts put to sea (millions) during 2019-2025.
Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Actual smolts put to sea 53.0 52.5 51.1 55.3 48.8
Smolts produced 51.4 50.5 51.2 55.1 51.5
Estimated production 38.6 52.1 55.6 54.1 47.1 48.6 57.3
Ration of ova laid down to smolts produced 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.5

The figure for the number of smolts put to sea includes smolts produced in England and smolts imported from elsewhere, whereas smolt production data relate only to those produced in Scotland. Smolt producers estimate putting 48.6 million smolts to sea in 2024. The ratio of ova laid down to hatch to smolts produced in 2023 was greater than the ratio in 2022.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 19.

Scale of Production

Table 20: Smolt-producing sites grouped by numbers (000’s) of smolts produced during 2014‑2023.

Note: These data refer only to sites producing smolts. The sites holding only ova, fry or parr are excluded.

Year 1-10 000’s smolts 11-25 000’s smolts 26-50 000’s smolts 51-100 000’s smolts 101-250 000’s smolts 251-500 000’s smolts 501-1000 000’s smolts >1000 000’s smolts Total no. of sites
2014 0 0 2 1 11 9 14 13 50
2015 1 1 2 4 9 11 16 11 55
2016 1 1 0 3 7 11 13 12 48
2017 1 0 0 2 6 11 10 15 45
2018 0 1 0 0 6 9 14 12 42
2019 1 0 0 2 8 8 10 16 45
2020 1 1 0 4 4 5 10 16 41
2021 1 0 0 2 6 5 9 16 39
2022 0 0 0 0 5 9 9 15 38
2023 0 0 1 0 4 4 11 15 35

The number of sites producing smolts in 2023 was 35. There was only one site producing less than 101,000 smolts during 2023 while the number of sites producing between 101,000 and one million smolts per year decreased by four. The number of sites producing in excess of one million smolts per year remained at 15 sites.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 20.

Production of Ova and Smolt by Production Area

Table 21a: Staffing in 2023 by region.
Region No. of full-time staff 2023 No. of part-time staff 2023
North West 177 10
Orkney 1 2
Shetland 36 2
West 48 5
Western Isles 16 1
East and South 6 1
All Scotland 284 21
Table 21b: Ova laid down to hatch (000’s) in 2022-2023, smolt production (000’s) in 2022-2023 and estimated production (000’s) in 2024-2025 by region.
Region Ova laid down to hatch (000’s) 2022 Ova laid down to hatch (000’s) 2023 Smolt production (000’s) 2022 Smolt production (000’s) 2023 Estimated smolt production (000’s) 2024 Estimated smolt production (000’s) 2025
North West 47,168 48,659 30,336 27,907 30,844 34,902
Orkney 175 0 109 40 0 0
Shetland 3,459 5,474 3,962 1,777 4,177 3,400
West 25,421 16,550 17,489 18,507 12,643 17,327
Western Isles 2,315 4,012 2,173 2,373 0 660
East and South 0 0 988 920 946 1,000
All Scotland 78,538 74,695 55,057 51,524 48,610 57,289

In 2023, the North West and the West were the main areas where ova were laid down to hatch. The North West and the West were the main smolt producing areas. The greatest number of staff were employed in the North West region.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 21.

Figure 2: The regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon smolt sites in 2023
Figure 2 showing a map of the regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon smolt sites in Scotland in 2023. The map is split into 6 areas: Shetland (blue), Orkney (green), North West (turquoise), East & South (purple), West (olive green) and Western Isles (red) and has black dots showing where each site is on the map.

International Trade

Scotland has a high health status with regard to the listed diseases. Imports of Atlantic salmon must originate from a source that is of equal or higher health status and consignments must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent authority confirming that all requirements have been met.

Exports are subject to the health conditions placed by the importing country. Potential exporters should ascertain from the competent authority in the importing country any specific health testing requirements that may be a condition of import and obtain a copy of the required health certificate. The Fish Health Inspectorate will provide advice on whether the source site can fulfil the export requirements.

Imports and Exports

Table 22a: Source and number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts imported during 2014-2023 derived from health certificates.
Year Ova from Iceland Ova from Norway Ova from Republic of Ireland Total ova Fry, parr and smolts from Norway Fry, parr and smolts from Republic of Ireland Total fry, parr and smolts
2014 3,813 49,831 5,218 58,862 1,748 1,602 3,350
2015 8,978 45,926 4,815 59,719 365 2,118 2,483
2016 5,324 38,602 5,444 49,370 0 1,956 1,956
2017 13,883 37,025 7,000 57,908 0 2,012 2,012
2018 10,116 48,430 7,250 65,796 0 1,700 1,700
2019 26,352 23,673 10,184 60,209 0 297 297
2020 41,756 220 15,296 57,272 0 1,130 1,130
2021 31,276 160 19,260 50,696 0 300 300
2022 23,370 175 20,367 43,912 0 0 0
2023 28,571 0 12,010 40,581 0 250 250

The numbers of ova imported decreased by 8% in 2023. The number fry, parr or smolts imported increased, with 250,000 fish being imported from the Republic of Ireland during 2023.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 22a.

Table 22b: Number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts exported during 2014-2023 derived from health certificates.
Year Farmed origin ova Fry, parr and smolts
2014 0 259
2015 95 8
2016 358 173
2017 339 206
2018 23 71
2019 0 263
2020 0 389
2021 0 371
2022 0 0
2023 0 222

In 2023, no ova were exported. Fry, parr and smolts exports increased with 222,000 fish being exported during 2023.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 22b.

Vaccines

Table 23: Number of sites using vaccines and number (millions) of fish vaccinated during 2014-2023.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
No. of sites 56 55 47 46 43 46 43 43 40 34
No. of fish (millions) vaccinated 44.7 48.0 42.6 58.4 51.0 52.4 59.2 54.9 56.2 48.5

Vaccines were used to provide protection against furunculosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN), ERM, vibriosis and salmonid alphavirus (SAV). The majority of fish were vaccinated against furunculosis, IPN and SAV, with smaller numbers of fish being vaccinated against ERM and vibriosis. A total of 48.5 million fish were vaccinated across 34 sites.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 23.

Escapes

In 2023, there were no reported escapes from sites rearing freshwater Atlantic salmon.

Contact

Email: MD.Productionsurvey@gov.scot

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