Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics 2023
Statistics on the economic contributions of Scotland’s marine sectors. Includes a time series of approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA), turnover and employment for industrial categories defined as part of the marine sector.
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Aquaculture is the breeding, growing, and harvesting of plants and animals in water. It can take place in natural water bodies such as ponds, lakes, and the ocean. Tanks, commonly found in fish hatcheries, are also used. Aquaculture production in Scotland includes salmon, trout, mussels, and other shellfish. Scottish Annual Business Statistics is not the sole or main source for the aquaculture data. Instead, data from several surveys are combined for more reliable estimates. See Data and Methodology for more information.
In 2023, aquaculture generated £468 million aGVA, 0.26% of the Scottish economy and 8% of the marine economy aGVA. Aquaculture employed 2,200 people, 0.08% of Scottish employment and 3% of marine economy employment.
From 2022 to 2023, the aGVA from aquaculture increased by 30% from £361 million to £468 million. The longer term trend from 2014 to 2023 increased by 37% from £341 million. From 2014 to 2023, employment increased by 3%.
Figure 4. The aquaculture aGVA has fluctuated over the last ten years with a low of £99 milion in 2015 and a high of £665 million in 2019.
Aquaculture aGVA by year, 2014 to 2023
In 2023, Atlantic salmon made up 95% of the aquaculture value, similar to previous years. The production of salmon is a process that takes several years. So, some years will have higher costs and lower production than others. In 2015, the aGVA dropped (Figure 4) due to lower salmon prices and higher costs because of disease challenges.
Local authority breakdowns of the aquaculture data are not available. But, salmon and mussel production are available by grouped Scottish marine region (Tables 26 and 27). A third of salmon production is in the combined North Coast and West Highlands region. Over eighty percent of Scottish mussel production takes place in the Shetland Isles.