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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

3. Atlantic Salmon - Production

Production

Production survey information was collected from all 10 companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 213 active sites. This figure represents the entire sector operating in Scotland.

Table 24: Annual production of salmon (tonnes) during 2014-2023 and projected production in 2024.

Note: The 2024 production value is a sector estimate of projected tonnage based on stocks currently being on-grown.

Year Tonnes Percentage difference
2014 179,022 10
2015 171,722 -4
2016 162,817 -5
2017 189,707 17
2018 156,025 -18
2019 203,881 31
2020 192,129 -6
2021 205,393 7
2022 169,194 -18
2023 150,949 -11
2024 185,207

The total production of Atlantic salmon during 2023 was 150,949 tonnes, a decrease of 18,245 tonnes (11%) on the 2022 total.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 24.

Table 25a: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of year 0 salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) during 2014-2023.
Year of smolt input Year of harvest Number (000’s) Production (tonnes) Mean weight at harvest (kg)
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
2022 2022 79 135 1.7
2023 2023 30 90 3.0
Table 25b: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of year 1 salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) during 2014-2023.
Year of smolt input Year of harvest Number (000’s) Production (tonnes) Mean weight at harvest (kg)
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
2021 2022 25,777 117,901 4.6
2022 2023 20,734 95,927 4.6
Table 25c: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of year 2 salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) during 2014-2023.
Year of smolt input Year of harvest Number (000’s) Production (tonnes) Mean weight at harvest (kg)
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
2020 2022 9,796 51,158 5.2
2021 2023 9,382 54,932 5.9

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 25.

Table 26: Number (000’s) and production (tonnes) of grilse (January - August) and pre-salmon (September - December) harvested during 2014-2023.
Year No. of Grilse Tonnes of Grilse Average weight (kg) of Grilse No. of Pre-salmon Tonnes of Pre-salmon Average weight (kg) of Pre-salmon
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
2022 14,784 65,163 4.4 10,993 52,738 4.8
2023 13,769 64,854 4.7 6,965 31,073 4.5

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 26.

Table 27: Percentage (by weight) of annual production by growth stage harvested during 2014-2023.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Growth stage - - - - - - - - - -
Input year fish <1 <1 <1 0 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1
Grilse 26 31 37 36 34 35 45 45 39 43
Pre-salmon 31 35 31 31 36 29 29 25 31 21
Year 2 salmon 42 33 31 33 29 35 26 30 30 36

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 27.

Table 28: Survival and production in smolt year classes during 2014-2023.
Year Smolt input (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2014 48,112 0.6 50.0 22.7 73.3
2015 45,465 0.5 54.2 24.4 79.1
2016 42,957 0.3 59.6 16.7 76.6
2017 46,116 0 47.3 26.5 73.8
2018 45,513 0.2 57.8 19.5 77.5
2019 52,990 0.6 53.8 20.0 74.4
2020 52,492 0.6 56.6 18.7 75.9
2021 51,131 0.03 50.4 18.3 68.7
2022 55,261 0.1 37.5
2023 48,845 0.06

Further details of fish numbers and tonnes harvested can be found in the Fish farm production survey supplementary data, Table 28.

In 2021, the last year for which survival can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest decreased to 68.7%. Of the 2022 year class, 37.6% of the input has been harvested, 12.8% lower than the average harvest of fish one year after input in the 2021 year class. In 2023, 0.06% of the fish were harvested from the 2023 input. This was a decrease compared with the proportion of fish harvested from the same year class in 2022.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 28.

Smolts to Sea

Table 29a: Number (000’s) of smolts put to sea during 2014-2023.
Year S½ smolts put to sea (000’s) S1 smolts put to sea (000’s) S1½ smolts put to sea (000’s) Total smolts put to sea (000’s)
2014 23,758 24,212 142 48,112
2015 22,886 22,569 10 45,465
2016 22,052 20,905 0 42,957
2017 25,490 20,626 0 46,116
2018 21,767 23,746 0 45,513
2019 24,525 28,465 0 52,990
2020 24,809 27,683 0 52,492
2021 29,421 21,396 314 51,131
2022 28,698 26,563 0 55,261
2023 25,859 22,986 0 48,845
Table 29b: Number (000’s) and origin of smolts put to sea during 2014-2023.
Year Scottish origin (000’s) Scottish origin (%) English origin (000’s) English origin (%) Other origin (000’s) Other origin (%)
2014 45,147 94 893 2 2,072 4
2015 43,445 96 938 2 1,082 2
2016 41,298 97 1,048 2 611 1
2017 44,840 97 976 2 300 <1
2018 43,831 96 1,318 3 364 <1
2019 51,942 98 751 1 297 <1
2020 50,292 96 1,070 2 1,130 2
2021 49,815 97 1,016 2 300 <1
2022 54,264 98 997 2 0 0
2023 47,647 98 948 2 250 <1

The total number of smolts put to sea in 2023 was 48.8 million. This smolt input comprised S½s (53%) and S1s (47%). No S1½s were produced in 2023. Two percent of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland and less than 1% coming from sources outwith GB in 2023. This was a small increase compared with the proportion observed in 2022.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 29.

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 2019-2023.

North West
Year Smolt put to sea (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2019 15,071 1.4 52 13.1 66.5
2020 19,075 0.7 65.2 17.6 83.5
2021 13,868 0.1 52.3 14.2 66.6
2022 18,130 0 42.9
2023 12,811 0
Orkney
Year Smolt put to sea (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2019 4,670 0 47.8 42.2 89.9
2020 4,578 0 47.2 32.5 79.7
2021 4,469 0 36.7 45.7 82.4
2022 5,217 0 24.5
2023 5,227 0
Shetland
Year Smolt put to sea (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2019 7,613 1.5 55.7 28.7 85.9
2020 10,072 0.8 52.1 27.2 80.1
2021 10,090 0 48.1 22.8 70.9
2022 10,571 0 40.1
2023 8,938 0.3
South West
Year Smolt put to sea (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2019 11,100 0 55.2 18.9 74.1
2020 9,485 1.2 55.3 12.1 68.6
2021 10,013 0 57.4 18.4 75.8
2022 10,152 0.8 39.2
2023 9,592 0
Western Isles
Year Smolt put to sea (000’s) Year 0 % harvest Year 1 % harvest Year 2 % harvest Total % of year class harvested (survival)
2019 14,536 0 55.7 16.4 72
2020 9,282 0 49.5 11.7 61.2
2021 12,691 <0.1 49.6 9.7 59.3
2022 11,190 0 32.6
2023 12,277 0

Further details of fish numbers harvested can be found in the Fish farm production survey supplementary data, Table 30.

Figure 3: The regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2023
Figure 3 showing a map of the regional distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in Scotland in 2023. The map is split into 5 areas: Shetland (blue), Orkney (green), North West (turquoise), South West (olive green) and Western Isles (red) and has black dots showing where each site is on the map.

Staffing

Table 31: Number of staff employed in the production of salmon during 2014-2023.
Year Total Full-time Staff Total Part-time Staff Total Staff Productivity (tonnes/person)
2014 1,191 134 1,325 135.1
2015 1,256 107 1,363 126.0
2016 1,379 107 1,486 109.6
2017 1,320 69 1,389 136.6
2018 1,415 51 1,466 106.4
2019 1,591 60 1,651 123.5
2020 1,557 73 1,630 117.9
2021 1,441 54 1,495 137.4
2022 1,426 82 1,508 112.2
2023 1,418 62 1,480 102.0

A full break down of staff numbers by gender can be found in the: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 31.

In 2023, the total number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,480, a decrease of 28 compared with 2022. 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 decreased from 112.2 to 102.0 tonnes produced per person.

Production Methods

Table 32: Production methods, capacity (cubic metres), tonnage and average stocking densities (kg/m3) during 2022 and 2023.
Method No. of sites 2022 No. of sites 2023 Total capacity (000’s m3) 2022 Total capacity (000’s m3) 2023 Production (tonnes) 2022 Production (tonnes) 2023
Seawater tanks 1 1 5.6 5.7 17 23
Seawater pens 209 212 25,089 25,949 169,177 150,926
For pen sites: ratio of production (kg) to pen capacity (m3) - - - - 6.7 5.8

In 2023, the majority of fish were produced in seawater pens. There were 23 tonnes of production from seawater tank sites in 2023. 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 pen capacity increased by 860,000 m3 during 2023 and the number of sea pen sites in production increased by three. Production efficiency in sea pens, measured as the ratio of fish weight in kilograms produced per cubic metre, decreased from 6.7 kg/m3 in 2022 to 5.8 kg/m3 in 2023.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 32.

Scale of Production by Site

Table 33: Number of sites shown in relation to their production grouping and percentage share of production 2014-2023.

Note: Total number of sites includes farms stocked but having no production.

Production grouping (tonnes) 0 1-500 501-1,000 1,001-2,000 2,001-3,000 3,001-4,000 >4,000 Total no. of Sites Total Tonnes
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
2022 87 26 25 46 13 11 2 210 169,194
2023 87 38 23 45 11 5 4 213 150,949
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 - -
2022 0 3 11 40 19 22 5 - -
2023 0 6 12 41 17 10 14 - -

In 2023, the number of sites with no production remained the same while the number of sites producing 1 to 1,000 tonnes increased by 10. The number of sites producing 1,000 to 4,000 tonnes decreased by nine and sites producing over 4,000 tonnes increased by two. The trend towards production in larger sites continued, with 82% of production being derived from sites producing over 1,000 tonnes.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 33.

Company Productivity

Table 34: Number of companies grouped by production (tonnes), staff and productivity (tonnes per person) during 2022-2023.

Note: The 10,001-30,000 and >30,000 tonnes categories from the 2022 survey report have been amalgamated to form a >10,000 category, due to commercial confidentiality.

Total Tonnage 0-1,000 1,001-5,000 5,001-10,000 >10,000 Total
No. of companies 2022 3 2 1 4 10
No. of companies 2023 3 3 0 4 10
No. of tonnes 2022 17 3,772 5,686 159,719 169,194
No. of tonnes 2023 23 8,437 0 142,489 150,949
Staff 2022 (total) 18 60 87 1,343 1,508
Staff 2023 (total) 22 145 0 1,313 1,480
Productivity 2022 (tonnes/person) 1 63 65 119 112
Productivity 2023 (tonnes/person) 1 58 0 109 102

The greatest productivity of 109 tonnes per person was achieved in the companies producing over 10,000 tonnes. The least productivity of one tonnes per person was from the companies producing between 0-1,000 tonnes. In comparison with 2022, the average company productivity decreased from 112 to 102 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by four companies in 2023 which between them accounted for 94% of Scotland’s farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 34.

Staff and Production by Production Area

Table 35: Staff and production (tonnes) by area 2018-2023 and projected production in 2024.

Note: Annual production values for 2024 are estimated production values.

Region Year Full-time staff Part-time staff Annual production (tonnes) Productivity (tonnes/person)
North West 2018 453 17 30,948 66
North West 2019 662 32 66,633 96
North West 2020 546 19 48,762 86
North West 2021 442 18 70,062 156
North West 2022 422 23 48,800 110
North West 2023 367 11 47,237 125
North West 2024 57,566
Orkney 2018 93 0 20,956 225
Orkney 2019 110 1 17,758 160
Orkney 2020 138 13 21,612 143
Orkney 2021 136 3 24,407 176
Orkney 2022 169 19 18,786 100
Orkney 2023 168 14 17,265 95
Orkney 2024 21,266
Shetland 2018 206 3 35,947 172
Shetland 2019 227 6 36,141 155
Shetland 2020 280 12 40,749 140
Shetland 2021 276 10 43,770 148
Shetland 2022 270 18 39,258 136
Shetland 2023 294 18 33,414 107
Shetland 2024 37,846
Region Year Full-time staff Part-time staff Annual production (tonnes) Productivity (tonnes/person)
South West 2018 375 14 37,506 96
South West 2019 338 7 44,881 130
South West 2020 331 17 36,367 105
South West 2021 340 7 36,085 104
South West 2022 330 14 31,236 91
South West 2023 365 13 28,997 77
South West 2024 27,455
Western Isles 2018 288 17 30,668 101
Western Isles 2019 254 14 38,468 144
Western Isles 2020 262 12 44,639 163
Westen Isles 2021 247 16 31,069 118
Western Isles 2022 235 8 31,114 128
Western Isles 2023 224 6 24,036 105
Western Isles 2024 41,074
Scotland total 2018 1,591 60 156,025 106
Scotland total 2019 1,557 73 203,881 124
Scotland total 2020 1,441 54 192,129 118
Scotland total 2021 1,426 82 205,393 137
Scotland total 2022 1,591 60 169,194 112
Scotland total 2023 1,418 62 150,949 102
Scotland total 2024 185,207

Further details of year class harvest and mean weight (kg) of fish by region can be found in the: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 35

Company and Site Data

Table 36: Number of companies and sites engaged in the production of Atlantic salmon during 2014-2023.
Year No. of producing companies No. of non-producing companies Total no. of companies No. of producing sites No. of non-producing sites Total no. of sites
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
2022 8 2 10 123 87 210
2023 8 2 10 126 87 213

The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2023 remained at eight. Two companies remained active and authorised, although not producing salmon for harvest in 2023. These 10 companies had 213 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest in 2023.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 36.

Fallowing

Table 37: Number of seawater pen sites employing a fallow period during 2014-2023.
Year 0 weeks <4 weeks 4-8 weeks 9-26 weeks 27-51 weeks 52 weeks Total no. of sites
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
2022 33 15 34 68 30 29 209
2023 22 9 37 78 29 37 212

Of the 212 seawater pen sites recorded as being active in 2023, 37 sites were fallow for the entire year whilst 153 sites were fallow for a variable period. There were 22 sites that did not fallow in 2023. 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.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 37.

Broodstock Sites

Table 38: Number of sites holding Atlantic salmon broodstock during 2014-2023.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Broodstock sites 8 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4

In 2023, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock remained at four sites. A total of 4,814 fish were stripped, yielding 56.0 million ova, giving an average yield of 11,633 ova per fish.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 38.

Organic Production

Table 39: Organic production of Atlantic salmon during 2014-2023.
Year No. of active pen sites No. of pen sites certified as organic Production (tonnes)
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
2022 209 9 17,768
2023 212 12 13,530

Of the 212 active Atlantic salmon seawater pen sites in 2023, 12 were certified as organic, producing 13,530 tonnes.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023, Supplementary Tables, Table 39.

Escapes

There were two incidents involving the loss of 80,001 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon sites in 2023. There were 13 additional incidents reported where the companies confirmed there was no loss of fish.

Contact

Email: MD.Productionsurvey@gov.scot

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