Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2020

Appendix 1: Covering Letter and Guidance Notes

Covering letter

December 2020

Annual Returns of Shellfish Farm Production – 2020

Dear Sir/Madam

As part of the annual survey of Scottish shellfish farms we seek production data from your business and site(s) for the year 2020. While 2020 has been a difficult year for aquaculture production, the collection of your data will help to inform the Scottish Government on the impacts of the pandemic on annual production levels across your industry.

I enclose forms requesting information on your shellfish farming enterprise and a self addressed pre-paid envelope for their return. Alternatively these forms can be issued electronically upon request by contacting MS.Productionsurvey@gov.scot.

The data you supply to Marine Scotland Science (MSS) is of great assistance to your industry and the Scottish Government. It is our intention to continue to publish these data annually and in a summarised form. The Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2020 report will be available in May 2021. MSS is obliged to consider any request it receives in relation to this under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EISRs).

FORM (a) requests data on production by business.

FORM (b) requests data on production, facility size and number of shellfish movements by site(s) and by species. Guidance notes are enclosed.

Please note production recorded by business must equal total production recorded by site(s). If the business has a nil return please place an X against the species registered as cultured, in FORM (a).

Please note that it is your duty to notify a competent authority or a veterinarian if you know or suspect that increasing mortality has occurred or is occurring in aquaculture animals in accordance with the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009. See guidance notes for reporting of mortality events where appropriate and registration changes.

Thank you for your co-operation. If you have any queries regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me at the address given below or e-mail MS.Productionsurvey@gov.scot

Please send returns to me by post, or electronically, before 31st January 2021. I would also like to remind you that the Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2019 is available on the Marine Scotland website, https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-shellfish-farm-production-survey-2019/.

Kind regards,
Lorna Munro
Marine Scotland Science

Business Form (a)

Site Form (b)

Guidance on Completing the Survey Forms

Form (a) - Business Production

Production of shellfish for 2020: Please provide your total business production for 2020 next to the relevant species (the individual site(s) production total(s) should add up to the business production total). The “for the table” column is for shellfish sold for human consumption (which should include any shellfish sent for depuration or cleansing, or temporarily held in other waters or tanks etc, prior to consumption or processing). The column “for depositing in other waters” should be filled in when shellfish have been partially grown and then sold or tranferred to another business for on-growing. Please state the unit of measurement used in your total business production (e.g. kilograms, tonnes etc.). If your business has not produced any shellfish then please put an X next to the species of shellfish that is authorised to be grown on site.

Production of shellfish for 2021 (estimate): Please provide estimates of production for 2021 “for the table” and “for depositing in other waters”. Please state the unit of measurement used in your total business production (e.g. kilograms, tonnes etc.).

Employment: Please state the number of people employed in the business under: full time male; full time female; part-time male; part-time female; casual (occasionally employed) male; or casual female.

Please finish the form by signing and dating.

Form (b) - Site Production, Size and Movements

Each site form can accommodate one site return. You have been issued with forms appropriate to the details which we hold for your site(s).

Production of shellfish for 2020: Please provide your total site production for 2020 “for the table” and “for depositing in other waters” for the respective species cultured. (This excludes hatcheries and nurseries). If you cultured shellfish species in 2020 which are not listed on the form please specify these in the row marked ‘Other’.

Highest Mortality: Please indicate the highest mortality as a percentage (%) of the facility type, for each species registered as cultured. Mortality should be recorded over a defined period of time. Please also indicate the reason for this mortality (if known).

Example 1 – A mussel farmer has ten long lines and one line suffers total mortality through predation over one month. The highest % mortality recorded would be 10% / 1 month. Reason was eider duck predation.

Example 2 – An oyster farmer has 100 trestles and all the shellfish from 90 are lost through disease in spring. The highest % mortality recorded would be 90% / 3 months. Reason was suspect notifiable disease eg. Bonamia.

Example 3 – A scallop farmer has 50 long lines and one line is destroyed by storm damage during the year. The highest % mortality recorded would be 2% / 12 months. Reason was storm damage.

• In accordance with the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009, it is your duty to notify the competent authority or a veterinarian if you know or suspect that increasing mortality has occurred or is occurring in aquaculture animals. This should be interpreted as being where mortality affects 15% or greater of stocks in a single facility, over a short period. It is also a requirement to maintain mortality records detailing the number of any aquaculture animals that have died in each epidemiological unit within the area. When significant abnormal mortalities occur the Fish Health Inspectorate must be informed immediately stating suspected cause (if known). The Fish Health Inspectorate can be contacted by telephone on 0131 244 3498 or by e-mail at MS.fishhealth@gov.scot

Size of production facilities in 2020 (molluscs): Please provide the size of the production facilities for the respective species cultured. If you cultured shellfish species in 2020 which are not listed on the form please specify the size of the facilities in the row marked ‘Other’.

• Where molluscs are cultured on the seabed, or where a Several Order is in place, the total extent of the lease area should be recorded in hectares or metres squared (m²) (please specify) in the column titled ‘On bottom’.
• Where molluscs are cultured on long lines / rafts please record the total length of rope used in metres (number of droppers x dropper length) in the column titled ‘Off bottom’ and subititled ‘Total rope length (m)’.
• Where molluscs are cultured in trestles please record the total extent of the lease area in hectares or metres squared (m²) (please specify) in the column titled ‘Leasing area containing trestles’.
• If molluscs are cultured by more than one method on a site an entry should be recorded for both methods.
• If utilising types of culturing methods other than those specified please give details of the type, number and size in the column titled ‘Other methods’.

Input to capture based aquaculture: Capture based aquaculture refers to the practice of collecting aquatic animals from the wild for aquaculture purposes prior to placing them on the market. For the purposes of this survey this does not include the natural settlement of mussel, oyster or scallop spat on long lines or the seabed. The active capture of animals from the wild which are then held for a period of time prior to being placed on the market should be recorded only where those animals are being fed. There is no requirement to record those animals which are intended for release back into the wild or are not being fed.

For example:

• Wild caught oysters held temporarily in depuration facilities would not be recorded.
• Wild caught lobsters held temporarily in holding facilities and being fed would be recorded.

Shellfish production for 2020 (hatcheries and nurseries): If applicable, please record the number of eggs and juveniles transferred to controlled environments for on growing or released into the wild.

Size of production facilities in 2020 (crustaceans): Please record the size of the facilities. For ponds, enclosures and pens, the bottom area should be recorded in hectares or m². For tanks and raceways the volume should be recorded in m³. On sites holding lobsters, either for release to the wild or for placing on the market, data is required only for those facilities where the animals are being fed.

Shellfish movements by site and species: Please only record live shellfish movements on or off-site where they are for ongrowing, not for table production.

2020 spat settlement: Please indicate if this was a spat collection site and if so, was spat settlement sufficient for production purposes.

Conversions

To convert	To	Multiply (X) or divide (/) by
Yards	Metres	X 0.9144
Miles	Kilometres	X 1.609
Acres	Hectares	X 0.4047
Square metres (m²)	Hectares	/ 10000
Cubic feet (ft3)	Cubic metres (m3)	X 0.0283