Scottish fish farm production survey 2017
This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland.
This document is part of a collection
3. Atlantic Salmon - Production
Production
Production survey information was collected from all 12 companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 226 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.
Table 24: Annual production of salmon (tonnes) during 1997-2017 and projected production in 2018
| Year |
Tonnes |
Percentage difference |
Year |
Tonnes |
Percentage difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 |
99,197 |
19 |
2008 |
128,606 |
-1 |
| 1998 |
110,897 |
12 |
2009 |
144,247 |
12 |
| 1999 |
126,686 |
14 |
2010 |
154,164 |
6.9 |
| 2000 |
128,959 |
2 |
2011 |
158,018 |
2.5 |
| 2001 |
138,519 |
7 |
2012 |
162,223 |
2.7 |
| 2002 |
144,589 |
4 |
2013 |
163,234 |
0.6 |
| 2003 |
169,736 |
17 |
2014 |
179,022 |
9.7 |
| 2004 |
158,099 |
-7 |
2015 |
171,722 |
-4.1 |
| 2005 |
129,588 |
-18 |
2016 |
162,817 |
-5.2 |
| 2006 |
131,847 |
2 |
2017 |
189,707 |
16.5 |
| 2007 |
129,930 |
-1.4 |
2018 |
150,774* |
*industry estimate of projected tonnage based on stocks currently being on-grown.
The total production of Atlantic salmon during 2017 was 189,707 tonnes, an increase of 26,890 tonnes (16.5%) on the 2016 total and the highest ever level of production recorded in Scotland.
Table 25: Number (000’s), production (tonnes) of salmon harvested and mean fish weight (kg) per year class during 2007-2017
Year of smolt input |
Year of harvest |
Number (000’s) |
Production (tonnes) |
Mean weight at harvest (kg) |
|
| Harvest in year 0 (i.e. in year of input) |
2007 |
2007 |
23 |
40 |
1.7 |
2008 |
2008 |
116 |
216 |
1.9 |
|
2009 |
2009 |
81 |
178 |
2.2 |
|
2010 |
2010 |
128 |
268 |
2.1 |
|
2011 |
2011 |
109 |
307 |
2.8 |
|
2012 |
2012 |
127 |
301 |
2.4 |
|
2013 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
- |
|
2014 |
2014 |
286 |
720 |
2.5 |
|
2015 |
2015 |
223 |
626 |
2.8 |
|
2016 |
2016 |
114 |
333 |
2.9 |
|
2017 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
- |
|
| Harvest in year 1 |
2006 |
2007 |
13,787 |
60,890 |
4.4 |
2007 |
2008 |
13,011 |
54,759 |
4.2 |
|
2008 |
2009 |
16,338 |
77,621 |
4.7 |
|
2009 |
2010 |
18,266 |
85,826 |
4.7 |
|
2010 |
2011 |
18,694 |
91,105 |
4.9 |
|
2011 |
2012 |
21,502 |
97,744 |
4.5 |
|
2012 |
2013 |
21,264 |
106,161 |
5.0 |
|
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 |
|
| Harvest in year 2 |
2005 |
2007 |
14,999 |
69,000 |
4.6 |
2006 |
2008 |
15,881 |
73,631 |
4.6 |
|
2007 |
2009 |
14,132 |
66,448 |
4.7 |
|
2008 |
2010 |
13,666 |
68,070 |
5.0 |
|
2009 |
2011 |
13,772 |
66,606 |
4.8 |
|
2010 |
2012 |
13,053 |
64,178 |
4.9 |
|
2011 |
2013 |
11,283 |
57,073 |
5.1 |
|
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 |
Table 26: Number (000’s) and production (tonnes) of grilse and pre-salmon harvested during 2007-2017
| Year |
Grilse (January-August) |
Pre-salmon (September-December) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number |
Tonnes |
Average weight (kg) |
Number |
Tonnes |
Average weight (kg) |
|
| 2007 |
3,823 |
15,811 |
4.1 |
9,964 |
45,079 |
4.5 |
| 2008 |
3,716 |
15,296 |
4.1 |
9,295 |
39,463 |
4.2 |
| 2009 |
5,631 |
23,857 |
4.2 |
10,707 |
53,764 |
5.0 |
| 2010 |
6,877 |
29,733 |
4.3 |
11,389 |
56,093 |
4.9 |
| 2011 |
7,604 |
35,146 |
4.6 |
11,090 |
55,959 |
5.0 |
| 2012 |
11,337 |
53,216 |
4.7 |
10,165 |
44,528 |
4.4 |
| 2013 |
9,618 |
47,496 |
4.9 |
11,646 |
58,665 |
5.0 |
| 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 |
Table 27: Percentage (by weight) of annual production by growth stage harvested during 2009-2017
| Year |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth stage |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Input year fish |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
0 |
<1 |
<1 |
<1 |
0 |
| Grilse |
16 |
19 |
22 |
33 |
29 |
26 |
31 |
37 |
36 |
| Pre-salmon |
37 |
36 |
35 |
27 |
36 |
31 |
35 |
31 |
31 |
| Year 2 salmon |
46 |
44 |
42 |
39 |
35 |
42 |
33 |
31 |
33 |
Survival and Production in Smolt Year Classes
Table 28: Survival and production in smolt year classes during 2000-2017
| Year of smolt input |
Smolt input (000’s) |
Harvest year 0 |
Harvest year 1 |
Harvest year 2 |
Total % of year class harvested (survival) |
Year class weight (tonnes) |
Yield per smolt (kg) |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number (000’s) |
Weight (tonnes) |
Mean weight (kg) |
% harvest |
Number (000’s) |
Weight (tonnes) |
Mean weight (kg) |
% harvest |
Number (000’s) |
Weight (tonnes) |
Mean weight (kg) |
% harvest |
||||||||
| 2000 |
45,185 |
765 |
2,673 |
3.5 |
1.7 |
22,726 |
96,539 |
4.2 |
50.3 |
11,354 |
53,535 |
4.7 |
25.1 |
77.1 |
152,747 |
3.38 |
|||
| 2001 |
48,643 |
557 |
1,227 |
2.2 |
1.1 |
23,528 |
90,230 |
3.8 |
48.4 |
15,619 |
73,255 |
4.7 |
32.1 |
81.6 |
164,712 |
3.39 |
|||
| 2002 |
50,086 |
272 |
824 |
3.0 |
0.5 |
22,602 |
96,205 |
4.3 |
45.1 |
15,555 |
71,988 |
4.6 |
31.1 |
76.7 |
169,017 |
3.37 |
|||
| 2003 |
43,083 |
82 |
276 |
3.4 |
0.2 |
19,596 |
85,792 |
4.4 |
45.5 |
13,920 |
61,850 |
4.4 |
32.3 |
78.0 |
147,918 |
3.43 |
|||
| 2004 |
39,041 |
168 |
319 |
1.9 |
0.4 |
15,075 |
67,738 |
4.5 |
38.6 |
14,237 |
67,537 |
4.7 |
36.5 |
75.5 |
135,594 |
3.47 |
|||
| 2005 |
37,168 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
14,036 |
64,099 |
4.6 |
37.8 |
14,999 |
69,000 |
4.6 |
40.3 |
78.1 |
133,099 |
3.58 |
|||
| 2006 |
41,091 |
115 |
211 |
1.8 |
0.3 |
13,787 |
60,890 |
4.4 |
33.5 |
15,881 |
73,631 |
4.6 |
38.6 |
72.5 |
134,732 |
3.28 |
|||
| 2007 |
37,853 |
23 |
40 |
1.7 |
0.06 |
13,011 |
54,759 |
4.2 |
34.4 |
14,133 |
66,448 |
4.7 |
37.3 |
71.8 |
121,247 |
3.20 |
|||
| 2008 |
36,662 |
116 |
216 |
1.9 |
0.3 |
16,338 |
77,621 |
4.7 |
44.6 |
13,666 |
68,070 |
5.0 |
37.3 |
82.2 |
145,907 |
3.98 |
|||
| 2009 |
38,548 |
81 |
178 |
2.2 |
0.2 |
18,266 |
85,826 |
4.7 |
47.4 |
13,772 |
66,606 |
4.8 |
35.7 |
83.3 |
152,610 |
3.96 |
|||
| 2010 |
38,490 |
128 |
268 |
2.1 |
0.3 |
18,694 |
91,105 |
4.9 |
48.6 |
13,053 |
64,178 |
4.9 |
33.9 |
82.8 |
155,551 |
4.04 |
|||
| 2011 |
42,733 |
109 |
307 |
2.8 |
0.3 |
21,502 |
97,744 |
4.5 |
50.3 |
11,283 |
57,073 |
5.1 |
26.4 |
77.0 |
155,124 |
3.63 |
|||
| 2012 |
41,094 |
127 |
301 |
2.4 |
0.3 |
21,264 |
106,161 |
5.0 |
51.7 |
13,712 |
76,305 |
5.6 |
33.4 |
85.4 |
182,767 |
4.45 |
|||
| 2013 |
40,936 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
20,316 |
101,997 |
5.0 |
49.6 |
10,910 |
56,984 |
5.2 |
26.7 |
76.3 |
158,981 |
3.88 |
|||
| 2014 |
48,112 |
286 |
720 |
2.5 |
0.6 |
24,038 |
114,112 |
4.7 |
50.0 |
10,940 |
51,321 |
4.7 |
22.7 |
73.3 |
166,153 |
3.45 |
|||
| 2015 |
45,465 |
223 |
626 |
2.8 |
0.5 |
24,633 |
111,163 |
4.5 |
54.2 |
11,094 |
63,262 |
5.7 |
24.4 |
79.1 |
175,051 |
3.85 |
|||
| 2016 |
42,957 |
114 |
333 |
2.9 |
0.3 |
25,596 |
126,445 |
4.9 |
59.6 |
||||||||||
| 2017 |
46,116 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
||||||||||||||
In 2015, the last year for which survival can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest increased to 79.1%. Of the 2016 year class, 59.9% of the input has been harvested, 5.2% higher than the average harvest of fish one year after input in the 2015 year class. In 2017, there was no harvest of fish from the 2017 input. This was a decrease compared with the proportion of fish harvested from the same year class in 2016.
Smolts to Sea
Table 29: Number (000’s) and origin of smolts put to sea during 2005-2017
| Year |
Smolts put to sea (000’s) |
Total (000’s) |
Scottish Origin |
English Origin |
Other Origin |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S½ |
S1 |
S1½ |
S2 |
% |
(000’s) |
% |
(000’s) |
% |
||
| 2005 |
13,051 |
22,501 |
1,616 |
0 |
37,168 |
96 |
1,594 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2006 |
15,578 |
23,733 |
1,779 |
0 |
41,090 |
96 |
1,257 |
3 |
272 |
<1 |
| 2007 |
14,665 |
23,188 |
0 |
0 |
37,853 |
94 |
1,747 |
5 |
420 |
1 |
| 2008 |
11,101 |
25,561 |
0 |
0 |
36,662 |
96 |
1,418 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2009 |
14,967 |
23,581 |
0 |
0 |
38,548 |
95 |
1,700 |
4 |
105 |
<1 |
| 2010 |
14,069 |
24,421 |
0 |
0 |
38,490 |
95 |
1,541 |
4 |
120 |
<1 |
| 2011 |
17,721 |
25,012 |
0 |
0 |
42,733 |
96 |
1,765 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2012 |
17,334 |
23,480 |
280 |
0 |
41,094 |
96 |
1,510 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 2013 |
19,262 |
21,534 |
140 |
0 |
40,936 |
97 |
1,169 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| 2014 |
23,758 |
24,212 |
142 |
0 |
48,112 |
94 |
893 |
2 |
2,072 |
4 |
| 2015 |
22,886 |
22,569 |
10 |
0 |
45,465 |
96 |
938 |
2 |
1,082 |
2 |
| 2016 |
22,052 |
20,905 |
0 |
0 |
42,957 |
97 |
1,048 |
2 |
611 |
1 |
| 2017 |
25,490 |
20,626 |
0 |
0 |
46,116 |
97 |
976 |
2 |
300 |
<1 |
The total number of smolts put to sea in 2017 was 46.1 million. This smolt input comprised S1s (44.7%) and S½s (55.3%). There was no production of S1½s or S2s in 2017. Just under 3% of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland, less than 1% of which came from sources outwith GB. This was a very slight decrease compared with the proportion observed in 2016.
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 2006-2017
| Region |
Smolts put to sea (000’s) |
Harvest in year 0 |
Harvest in year 1 |
Harvest in year 2 |
Total Harvest |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year |
No |
Year |
No |
% |
Year |
No |
% |
Year |
No |
% |
No |
% |
|
| North West |
2006 |
10,403 |
2006 |
115 |
1.1 |
2007 |
4,300 |
41.3 |
2008 |
3,612 |
34.7 |
8,027 |
77.1 |
| 2007 |
9,563 |
2007 |
23 |
0.2 |
2008 |
5,394 |
56.4 |
2009 |
1,850 |
19.3 |
7,267 |
75.9 |
|
| 2008 |
9,099 |
2008 |
116 |
1.3 |
2009 |
4,897 |
53.8 |
2010 |
2,687 |
29.5 |
7,700 |
84.6 |
|
| 2009 |
9,986 |
2009 |
42 |
0.4 |
2010 |
7,045 |
70.5 |
2011 |
2,003 |
20.1 |
9,090 |
91.0 |
|
| 2010 |
9,924 |
2010 |
117 |
1.2 |
2011 |
6,324 |
63.7 |
2012 |
2,802 |
28.2 |
9,243 |
93.1 |
|
| 2011 |
12,605 |
2011 |
53 |
0.4 |
2012 |
7,937 |
63.0 |
2013 |
1,744 |
13.8 |
9,734 |
77.2 |
|
| 2012 |
11,588 |
2012 |
127 |
1.1 |
2013 |
7,179 |
62.0 |
2014 |
2,623 |
22.6 |
9,929 |
85.7 |
|
| 2013 |
10,975 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
2014 |
6,549 |
59.7 |
2015 |
1,695 |
15.4 |
8,244 |
75.1 |
|
| 2014 |
17,543 |
2014 |
191 |
1.1 |
2015 |
9,649 |
55.0 |
2016 |
3,768 |
21.5 |
13,608 |
77.6 |
|
| 2015 |
8,646 |
2015 |
223 |
2.6 |
2016 |
6,122 |
70.8 |
2017 |
1,695 |
19.6 |
8,040 |
93.0 |
|
| 2016 |
14,534 |
2016 |
114 |
0.8 |
2017 |
9,711 |
66.8 |
||||||
| 2017 |
9,527 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||||
| Orkney |
2006 |
1,622 |
2006 |
0 |
0 |
2007 |
433 |
26.7 |
2008 |
586 |
36.1 |
1,019 |
62.8 |
| 2007 |
1,408 |
2007 |
0 |
0 |
2008 |
594 |
42.2 |
2009 |
741 |
52.6 |
1,335 |
94.8 |
|
| 2008 |
1,912 |
2008 |
0 |
0 |
2009 |
507 |
26.5 |
2010 |
1,120 |
58.6 |
1,627 |
85.1 |
|
| 2009 |
1,154 |
2009 |
0 |
0 |
2010 |
741 |
64.2 |
2011 |
95 |
8.2 |
836 |
72.4 |
|
| 2010 |
2,557 |
2010 |
0 |
0 |
2011 |
1,126 |
44.0 |
2012 |
936 |
36.6 |
2,062 |
80.6 |
|
| 2011 |
2,718 |
2011 |
0 |
0 |
2012 |
1,203 |
44.3 |
2013 |
765 |
28.1 |
1,968 |
72.4 |
|
| 2012 |
2,727 |
2012 |
0 |
0 |
2013 |
1,422 |
52.1 |
2014 |
1,167 |
42.8 |
2,589 |
94.9 |
|
| 2013 |
2,104 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
2014 |
1,023 |
48.6 |
2015 |
512 |
24.3 |
1,535 |
72.9 |
|
| 2014 |
2,829 |
2014 |
0 |
0 |
2015 |
1,412 |
49.9 |
2016 |
1,244 |
44.0 |
2,656 |
93.9 |
|
| 2015 |
3,266 |
2015 |
0 |
0 |
2016 |
1,580 |
48.4 |
2017 |
1,521 |
46.6 |
3,101 |
95.0 |
|
| 2016 |
3,050 |
2016 |
0 |
0 |
2017 |
1,184 |
38.8 |
||||||
| 2017 |
3,524 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||||
| Shetland |
2006 |
13,180 |
2006 |
0 |
0 |
2007 |
4,578 |
34.7 |
2008 |
4,959 |
37.6 |
9,537 |
72.3 |
| 2007 |
14,947 |
2007 |
0 |
0 |
2008 |
4,610 |
30.8 |
2009 |
4,930 |
33.0 |
9,540 |
63.8 |
|
| 2008 |
13,929 |
2008 |
0 |
0 |
2009 |
4,992 |
35.8 |
2010 |
4,659 |
33.4 |
9,651 |
69.2 |
|
| 2009 |
10,031 |
2009 |
29 |
0.3 |
2010 |
4,201 |
41.9 |
2011 |
3,234 |
32.2 |
7,464 |
74.4 |
|
| 2010 |
11,573 |
2010 |
0 |
0 |
2011 |
4,134 |
35.7 |
2012 |
4,292 |
37.1 |
8,426 |
72.8 |
|
| 2011 |
11,206 |
2011 |
49 |
0.4 |
2012 |
4,911 |
43.8 |
2013 |
2,709 |
24.2 |
7,669 |
68.4 |
|
| 2012 |
11,389 |
2012 |
0 |
0 |
2013 |
4,995 |
43.9 |
2014 |
4,022 |
35.3 |
9,017 |
79.2 |
|
| 2013 |
9,956 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
2014 |
4,289 |
43.1 |
2015 |
3,034 |
30.5 |
7,323 |
73.6 |
|
| 2014 |
11,309 |
2014 |
0 |
0 |
2015 |
5,042 |
44.6 |
2016 |
2,663 |
23.5 |
7,705 |
68.1 |
|
| 2015 |
9,040 |
2015 |
0 |
0 |
2016 |
5,322 |
58.9 |
2017 |
1,592 |
17.6 |
6,914 |
76.5 |
|
| 2016 |
10,640 |
2016 |
0 |
0 |
2017 |
6,012 |
56.5 |
||||||
| 2017 |
8,539 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||||
| South West |
2006 |
7,032 |
2006 |
0 |
0 |
2007 |
2,677 |
38.1 |
2008 |
3,065 |
43.6 |
5,742 |
81.7 |
| 2007 |
6,135 |
2007 |
0 |
0 |
2008 |
980 |
16.0 |
2009 |
3,289 |
53.6 |
4,269 |
69.6 |
|
| 2008 |
6,507 |
2008 |
0 |
0 |
2009 |
4,153 |
63.8 |
2010 |
2,969 |
45.6 |
7,122 |
109.4* |
|
| 2009 |
8,200 |
2009 |
10 |
0.1 |
2010 |
2,700 |
32.9 |
2011 |
4,697 |
57.3 |
7,407 |
90.3 |
|
| 2010 |
6,565 |
2010 |
12 |
0.2 |
2011 |
3,000 |
45.7 |
2012 |
2,648 |
40.3 |
5,660 |
86.2 |
|
| 2011 |
7,493 |
2011 |
0 |
0 |
2012 |
2,673 |
35.7 |
2013 |
3,706 |
49.4 |
6,379 |
85.1 |
|
| 2012 |
7,363 |
2012 |
0 |
0 |
2013 |
2,841 |
38.6 |
2014 |
3,863 |
52.5 |
6,704 |
91.1 |
|
| 2013 |
7,801 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
2014 |
3,202 |
41.0 |
2015 |
3,564 |
45.7 |
6,766 |
86.7 |
|
| 2014 |
6,981 |
2014 |
95 |
1.4 |
2015 |
3,771 |
54.0 |
2016 |
2,023 |
29.0 |
5,889 |
84.4 |
|
| 2015 |
11,156 |
2015 |
0 |
0 |
2016 |
4,944 |
44.3 |
2017 |
3,643 |
32.7 |
8,587 |
77.0 |
|
| 2016 |
8,093 |
2016 |
0 |
0 |
2017 |
4,643 |
57.4 |
||||||
| 2017 |
11,106 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||||
| Western Isles |
2006 |
8,853 |
2006 |
0 |
0 |
2007 |
1,799 |
20.3 |
2008 |
3,659 |
41.3 |
5,458 |
61.6 |
| 2007 |
5,800 |
2007 |
0 |
0 |
2008 |
1,433 |
24.7 |
2009 |
3,320 |
57.2 |
4,753 |
81.9 |
|
| 2008 |
5,214 |
2008 |
0 |
0 |
2009 |
1,789 |
34.3 |
2010 |
2,231 |
42.8 |
4,020 |
77.1 |
|
| 2009 |
9,177 |
2009 |
0 |
0 |
2010 |
3,579 |
39.0 |
2011 |
3,743 |
40.8 |
7,322 |
79.8 |
|
| 2010 |
7,870 |
2010 |
0 |
0 |
2011 |
4,110 |
52.2 |
2012 |
2,375 |
30.2 |
6,485 |
82.4 |
|
| 2011 |
8,711 |
2011 |
7 |
0.1 |
2012 |
4,778 |
54.9 |
2013 |
2,358 |
27.1 |
7,143 |
82.0 |
|
| 2012 |
8,027 |
2012 |
0 |
0 |
2013 |
4,827 |
60.1 |
2014 |
2,037 |
25.4 |
6,864 |
85.5 |
|
| 2013 |
10,100 |
2013 |
0 |
0 |
2014 |
5,254 |
52.0 |
2015 |
2,105 |
20.8 |
7,359 |
72.8 |
|
| 2014 |
9,451 |
2014 |
0 |
0 |
2015 |
4,164 |
44.1 |
2016 |
1,242 |
13.1 |
5,406 |
57.2 |
|
| 2015 |
13,357 |
2015 |
0 |
0 |
2016 |
6,665 |
49.9 |
2017 |
2,643 |
19.8 |
9,308 |
69.7 |
|
| 2016 |
6,640 |
2016 |
0 |
0 |
2017 |
4,046 |
60.9 |
||||||
| 2017 |
13,420 |
2017 |
0 |
0 |
|||||||||
* The survival of the 2008 smolt input in the South West is over 100% due to the practice of putting smolts to sea in one region and subsequently moving them to another sea water site in another region for harvest.
Staffing
Table 31: Number of staff employed in the production of salmon during 2007-2017
| Year |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff |
F/T |
798 |
849 |
874 |
944 |
923 |
944 |
1,081 |
1,191 |
1,256 |
1,379 |
1,362 |
| P/T |
118 |
100 |
89 |
120 |
90 |
115 |
99 |
134 |
107 |
107 |
69 |
|
| Total staff |
916 |
949 |
963 |
1,064 |
1,013 |
1,059 |
1,180 |
1,325 |
1,363 |
1,486 |
1,431 |
|
| Productivity (tonnes/person) |
141.8 |
135.5 |
149.8 |
144.9 |
156.0 |
153.2 |
138.3 |
135.1 |
126.0 |
109.6 |
132.6 |
|
In 2017, the total number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,431, a decrease of 55 compared with 2016. 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 increased from 109.6 to 132.6 tonnes produced per person.
Production Methods
Table 32: Production methods, capacity, tonnage and average stocking densities (kg/m3) during 2015-2017
| Method |
Number of sites |
Total capacity (000’s cubic metres) |
Production (tonnes) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
| Seawater tanks |
4 |
5 |
4 |
6.2 |
7.4 |
5.7 |
179 |
21 |
26 |
| Seawater cages |
250 |
248 |
222 |
20,338 |
20,067 |
19,108 |
171,543 |
162,796 |
189,681 |
| For cage sites: ratio of production (kg) to cage capacity (m3) |
8.4 |
8.1 |
9.9 |
||||||
In 2017, the majority of fish were produced in seawater cages. There were 26 tonnes of production from seawater tank sites in 2017. 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 fin fish or salmon broodstock.
Sea cage capacity decreased by 959,000 m3 during 2017 and the number of sea cage sites in production decreased by 26. Production efficiency in sea cages, measured as the ratio of fish weight in kilograms produced per cubic metre, increased to 9.9 kg/m3. In cage sites, the ratio of production (expressed in kilograms) to cage capacity (expressed in cubic metres) was 8.4, 8.1 and 9.9 in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Figure 3: The distribution of active Atlantic salmon production sites in 2017
Scale of Production by Site
Table 33: Number of sites shown in relation to their production grouping and percentage share of production 2007-2017
| Production grouping (tonnes) |
Total |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
1-50 |
51-100 |
101-200 |
201-500 |
501-1,000 |
>1,000 |
Sites* |
Tonnes |
|
| 2007 |
89 |
9 |
8 |
19 |
33 |
34 |
55 |
247 |
129,930 |
| 2008 |
118 |
7 |
9 |
15 |
22 |
29 |
57 |
257 |
128,606 |
| 2009 |
104 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
33 |
25 |
58 |
254 |
144,247 |
| 2010 |
109 |
5 |
6 |
10 |
33 |
22 |
64 |
249 |
154,164 |
| 2011 |
106 |
9 |
7 |
9 |
28 |
29 |
66 |
254 |
158,018 |
| 2012 |
115 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
25 |
33 |
67 |
257 |
162,223 |
| 2013 |
112 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
18 |
36 |
67 |
257 |
163,234 |
| 2014 |
117 |
8 |
1 |
9 |
26 |
29 |
70 |
260 |
179,022 |
| 2015 |
115 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
26 |
26 |
75 |
254 |
171,722 |
| 2016 |
117 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
22 |
26 |
73 |
253 |
162,817 |
| 2017 |
93 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
13 |
33 |
77 |
226 |
189,707 |
| 2007 |
0 |
0.2 |
0.4 |
2.3 |
8.3 |
19.0 |
69.8 |
- |
- |
| 2008 |
0 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
1.6 |
5.8 |
15.9 |
76 |
- |
- |
| 2009 |
0 |
0.2 |
0.6 |
1.0 |
7.7 |
13.0 |
77.5 |
- |
- |
| 2010 |
0 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
7.3 |
10.8 |
80.6 |
- |
- |
| 2011 |
0 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
0.8 |
6.4 |
13.4 |
78.9 |
- |
- |
| 2012 |
0 |
<0.1 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
5.0 |
15.0 |
78.8 |
- |
- |
| 2013 |
0 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
1.1 |
4.0 |
16.7 |
78.0 |
- |
- |
| 2014 |
0 |
0.1 |
<0.1 |
0.8 |
5.0 |
12.0 |
82.0 |
- |
- |
| 2015 |
0 |
<0.1 |
<0.1 |
0.9 |
5.0 |
11.6 |
82.4 |
- |
- |
| 2016 |
0 |
<0.1 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
4.6 |
11.7 |
82.8 |
- |
- |
| 2017 |
0 |
<0.1 |
0 |
0.6 |
3.2 |
13.9 |
82.3 |
- |
- |
* Includes farms stocked but having no production.
In 2017, the number of sites with no production decreased by 24 whilst the number producing 1 to 500 tonnes decreased by 14. The number of sites producing over 500 tonnes increased by 11, continuing the trend towards production in larger sites and 82.3% of production being derived from sites producing over 1000 tonnes.
Company ProductivityTable 34: Number of companies grouped by production (tonnes), staff and productivity (tonnes per person) during 2016-2017
| Total Tonnage |
0-100 |
101-200 |
201-400 |
401-700 |
701-1,000 |
1,001-2,000 |
>2,000 |
Total |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of companies |
2016 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
15 |
| 2017 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
12 |
|
| No. of tonnes |
2016 |
21 |
0 |
211 |
0 |
808 |
0 |
161,777 |
162,817 |
| 2017 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1864 |
187,817 |
189,707 |
|
| Staff (total) |
2016 |
14 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
38 |
0 |
1,430 |
1,486 |
| 2017 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
31 |
1,390 |
1,431 |
|
| Productivity |
2016 |
2 |
- |
53 |
- |
21 |
- |
113 |
110 |
| 2017 |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
60 |
135 |
133 |
|
The greatest productivity of 135 tonnes per person was achieved in the companies producing over 2000 tonnes. The least productivity of 3 tonnes per person was from the companies producing between 0-100 tonnes. In comparison with 2016, the average company productivity increased from 110 to 133 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by six companies in 2017 which between them accounted for 99% of Scotland’s farmed Atlantic salmon production.
Staff and Production by Production Area
Table 35: Staff and production (tonnes) by area 2008-2017 and projected production in 2018
Region |
Year |
Staff |
Annual Production |
Productivity (t/person) |
Year of input |
Grilse |
Pre-salmon |
Salmon |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F/T |
P/T |
Tonnes |
Mean weight (kg) |
Tonnes |
Mean weight (kg) |
Tonnes |
Mean weight (kg) |
Tonnes |
Mean weight (kg) |
||||
| North West |
2008 |
280 |
34 |
40,718 |
130 |
216 |
1.9 |
7,817 |
4.2 |
15,997 |
4.5 |
16,688 |
4.6 |
| 2009 |
256 |
32 |
35,295 |
122 |
75 |
1.8 |
9,777 |
4.7 |
15,860 |
5.6 |
9,583 |
5.2 |
|
| 2010 |
294 |
44 |
47,353 |
140 |
239 |
2.0 |
15,895 |
4.4 |
17,837 |
5.1 |
13,382 |
5.0 |
|
| 2011 |
303 |
38 |
41,656 |
122 |
174 |
3.2 |
13,152 |
4.3 |
16,879 |
5.1 |
11,451 |
5.7 |
|
| 2012 |
300 |
40 |
50,987 |
150 |
301 |
2.4 |
31,121 |
4.7 |
5,842 |
4.7 |
13,723 |
4.9 |
|
| 2013 |
350 |
48 |
43,320 |
109 |
0 |
- |
17,937 |
4.9 |
16,417 |
4.7 |
8,966 |
5.1 |
|
| 2014 |
348 |
46 |
50,873 |
129 |
511 |
2.7 |
26,440 |
5.3 |
8,731 |
5.5 |
15,191 |
5.8 |
|
| 2015 |
382 |
66 |
54,741 |
122 |
626 |
2.8 |
18,046 |
4.8 |
26,897 |
4.6 |
9,172 |
5.4 |
|
| 2016 |
538 |
30 |
46,917 |
83 |
333 |
2.9 |
21,576 |
4.7 |
7,515 |
5.0 |
17,493 |
4.6 |
|
| 2017 |
506 |
13 |
55,690 |
107 |
0 |
- |
32,113 |
5.1 |
14,920 |
4.4 |
8,657 |
5.1 |
|
| 2018 |
33,569* |
||||||||||||
| Orkney |
2008 |
60 |
5 |
5,716 |
88 |
0 |
- |
811 |
4.2 |
1,747 |
4.3 |
3,158 |
5.4 |
| 2009 |
47 |
2 |
6,220 |
127 |
0 |
- |
754 |
4.6 |
1,793 |
5.2 |
3,673 |
4.9 |
|
| 2010 |
58 |
2 |
9,388 |
156 |
0 |
- |
1,221 |
4.1 |
2,279 |
5.1 |
5,888 |
5.3 |
|
| 2011 |
69 |
0 |
6,369 |
92 |
0 |
- |
3,508 |
5.1 |
2,355 |
5.4 |
506 |
5.3 |
|
| 2012 |
65 |
6 |
11,694 |
165 |
0 |
- |
3,532 |
5.3 |
2,720 |
5.1 |
5,442 |
5.8 |
|
| 2013 |
86 |
3 |
11,479 |
129 |
0 |
- |
3,191 |
5.1 |
4,491 |
5.7 |
3,797 |
5.0 |
|
| 2014 |
90 |
6 |
13,029 |
136 |
0 |
- |
980 |
5.5 |
5,045 |
6.0 |
7,004 |
6.0 |
|
| 2015 |
93 |
1 |
11,074 |
118 |
0 |
- |
1,386 |
5.0 |
6,129 |
5.4 |
3,559 |
6.9 |
|
| 2016 |
102 |
8 |
14,752 |
134 |
0 |
- |
3,491 |
4.6 |
4,668 |
5.7 |
6,593 |
5.3 |
|
| 2017 |
108 |
9 |
16,756 |
143 |
0 |
- |
3,215 |
5.3 |
3,823 |
6.6 |
9,718 |
6.4 |
|
| 2018 |
14,370* |
||||||||||||
| Shetland |
2008 |
202 |
26 |
41,374 |
182 |
0 |
- |
4,091 |
4.1 |
14,287 |
4.0 |
22,996 |
4.6 |
| 2009 |
188 |
22 |
43,785 |
208 |
65 |
2.3 |
4,873 |
3.3 |
16,183 |
4.6 |
22,664 |
4.6 |
|
| 2010 |
178 |
23 |
45,439 |
226 |
0 |
- |
3,624 |
4.9 |
17,179 |
5.0 |
24,636 |
5.3 |
|
| 2011 |
189 |
22 |
35,493 |
168 |
118 |
2.4 |
4,611 |
4.7 |
16,071 |
5.1 |
14,693 |
4.5 |
|
| 2012 |
188 |
16 |
43,010 |
211 |
0 |
- |
6,083 |
4.3 |
15,784 |
4.5 |
21,143 |
4.9 |
|
| 2013 |
210 |
14 |
36,694 |
164 |
0 |
- |
5,822 |
4.5 |
18,121 |
4.9 |
12,751 |
4.7 |
|
| 2014 |
224 |
24 |
46,369 |
187 |
0 |
- |
6,196 |
5.7 |
17,604 |
5.5 |
22,569 |
5.6 |
|
| 2015 |
228 |
19 |
42,786 |
173 |
0 |
- |
11,134 |
5.4 |
14,939 |
5.0 |
16,713 |
5.5 |
|
| 2016 |
200 |
23 |
37,464 |
168 |
0 |
- |
11,844 |
4.4 |
12,906 |
4.9 |
12,714 |
4.8 |
|
| 2017 |
207 |
12 |
38,908 |
178 |
0 |
- |
14,132 |
4.6 |
15,284 |
5.2 |
9,492 |
6.0 |
|
| 2018 |
30,155* |
||||||||||||
| South West |
2008 |
173 |
21 |
19,229 |
99 |
0 |
- |
1,212 |
4.0 |
3,108 |
4.6 |
14,909 |
4.9 |
| 2009 |
199 |
23 |
35,726 |
161 |
38 |
3.5 |
4,615 |
4.6 |
15,988 |
5.1 |
15,085 |
4.6 |
|
| 2010 |
231 |
39 |
27,751 |
103 |
29 |
2.5 |
6,032 |
4.2 |
7,118 |
5.7 |
14,572 |
4.9 |
|
| 2011 |
212 |
17 |
37,157 |
162 |
0 |
- |
3,618 |
4.8 |
10,899 |
4.8 |
22,640 |
4.8 |
|
| 2012 |
221 |
24 |
26,850 |
110 |
0 |
- |
9,315 |
5.4 |
4,508 |
4.8 |
13,027 |
4.9 |
|
| 2013 |
251 |
19 |
34,924 |
129 |
0 |
- |
5,847 |
4.8 |
9,111 |
5.6 |
19,966 |
5.4 |
|
| 2014 |
279 |
29 |
34,976 |
114 |
209 |
2.2 |
4,278 |
5.1 |
10,476 |
4.4 |
20,013 |
5.2 |
|
| 2015 |
302 |
12 |
35,911 |
114 |
0 |
- |
10,356 |
4.7 |
6,686 |
4.3 |
18,869 |
5.3 |
|
| 2016 |
305 |
26 |
31,022 |
94 |
0 |
- |
12,349 |
4.3 |
9,246 |
4.4 |
9,427 |
4.7 |
|
| 2017 |
304 |
17 |
44,575 |
139 |
0 |
- |
11,206 |
5.7 |
12,903 |
4.8 |
20,466 |
5.6 |
|
| 2018 |
36,044* |
||||||||||||
| Western Isles |
2008 |
134 |
14 |
21,569 |
146 |
0 |
- |
1,365 |
3.8 |
4,324 |
4.0 |
15,880 |
4.3 |
| 2009 |
184 |
10 |
23,221 |
120 |
0 |
- |
3,838 |
4.1 |
3,940 |
4.6 |
15,443 |
4.6 |
|
| 2010 |
183 |
12 |
24,233 |
124 |
0 |
- |
2,961 |
3.7 |
11,680 |
4.2 |
9,592 |
4.3 |
|
| 2011 |
150 |
13 |
37,343 |
229 |
15 |
2.1 |
10,257 |
4.7 |
9,755 |
5.0 |
17,316 |
4.6 |
|
| 2012 |
170 |
29 |
29,682 |
149 |
0 |
- |
3,165 |
3.7 |
15,674 |
4.0 |
10,843 |
4.6 |
|
| 2013 |
184 |
15 |
36,817 |
185 |
0 |
- |
14,699 |
5.2 |
10,525 |
5.2 |
11,593 |
4.9 |
|
| 2014 |
250 |
29 |
33,775 |
121 |
0 |
- |
8,792 |
4.5 |
13,455 |
4.1 |
11,528 |
5.7 |
|
| 2015 |
251 |
9 |
27,210 |
105 |
0 |
- |
13,008 |
4.4 |
5,531 |
4.5 |
8,671 |
4.1 |
|
| 2016 |
234 |
20 |
32,662 |
129 |
0 |
- |
10,593 |
4.2 |
16,975 |
4.1 |
5,094 |
4.1 |
|
| 2017 |
237 |
18 |
33,778 |
132 |
0 |
- |
7,450 |
4.7 |
11,399 |
4.6 |
14,929 |
5.6 |
|
| 2018 |
36,636* |
||||||||||||
| Scotland Total |
2008 |
849 |
100 |
128,606 |
135 |
216 |
1.9 |
15,296 |
4.1 |
39,463 |
4.2 |
73,631 |
4.6 |
| 2009 |
874 |
89 |
144,247 |
150 |
178 |
2.2 |
23,857 |
4.2 |
53,764 |
5.0 |
66,448 |
4.7 |
|
| 2010 |
944 |
120 |
154,164 |
145 |
268 |
2.1 |
29,733 |
4.3 |
56,093 |
4.9 |
68,070 |
5.0 |
|
| 2011 |
923 |
90 |
158,018 |
156 |
307 |
2.8 |
35,146 |
4.6 |
55,959 |
5.0 |
66,606 |
4.8 |
|
| 2012 |
944 |
115 |
162,223 |
153 |
301 |
2.4 |
53,216 |
4.7 |
44,528 |
4.4 |
64,178 |
4.9 |
|
| 2013 |
1,081 |
99 |
163,234 |
138 |
0 |
- |
47,496 |
4.9 |
58,665 |
5.0 |
57,073 |
5.1 |
|
| 2014 |
1,191 |
134 |
179,022 |
135 |
720 |
2.5 |
46,686 |
5.2 |
55,311 |
4.9 |
76,305 |
5.6 |
|
| 2015 |
1,256 |
107 |
171,722 |
126 |
626 |
2.8 |
53,930 |
4.8 |
60,182 |
4.7 |
56,984 |
5.2 |
|
| 2016 |
1,379 |
107 |
162,817 |
110 |
333 |
2.9 |
59,853 |
4.4 |
51,310 |
4.6 |
51,321 |
4.7 |
|
| 2017 |
1,362 |
69 |
189,707 |
133 |
0 |
- |
68,116 |
5.0 |
58,329 |
4.8 |
63,262 |
5.7 |
|
| 2018 |
150,774* |
||||||||||||
*Estimated production for 2018.
Company and Site Data
Table 36: Number of companies and sites engaged in the production of Atlantic salmon during 2007-2017
| Year |
Number of companies |
Number of sites |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producing |
Non-producing |
Total |
Producing |
Non- producing |
Total |
|
| 2007 |
28 |
10 |
38 |
158 |
89 |
247 |
| 2008 |
26 |
9 |
35 |
139 |
118 |
257 |
| 2009 |
25 |
6 |
31 |
150 |
104 |
254 |
| 2010 |
20 |
10 |
30 |
140 |
109 |
249 |
| 2011 |
21 |
6 |
27 |
148 |
106 |
254 |
| 2012 |
16 |
6 |
22 |
142 |
115 |
257 |
| 2013 |
15 |
6 |
21 |
145 |
112 |
257 |
| 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 |
The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2017 was eight, a decrease of two from 2016. Four companies remained active and authorised, although not producing salmon for harvest in 2017. This continued the trend of Atlantic salmon production becoming concentrated within fewer companies. These 12 companies had 226 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest in 2017.
Fallowing
Table 37: Number of seawater cage sites employing a fallow period during 2008-2017
| Year |
Fallow Period (weeks) |
Total |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
<4 |
4-8 |
9-26 |
27-51 |
52 |
||
| 2008 |
53 |
16 |
28 |
92 |
40 |
28 |
257 |
| 2009 |
51 |
3 |
30 |
86 |
46 |
37 |
253 |
| 2010 |
53 |
8 |
26 |
83 |
41 |
36 |
247 |
| 2011 |
60 |
10 |
31 |
85 |
27 |
39 |
252 |
| 2012 |
58 |
4 |
31 |
97 |
28 |
37 |
255 |
| 2013 |
51 |
4 |
31 |
92 |
35 |
43 |
253 |
| 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 |
Of the 222 seawater cage sites recorded as being active in 2017, 40 sites were fallow for the entire year whilst 142 sites were fallow for a variable period. There were 40 sites that did not fallow in 2017. The normal production cycle in seawater varies in length between 12 months and two years and a fallow period at the end of production can break the cycle of disease or parasitic infections.
Broodstock Sites
Table 38: Number of sites holding Atlantic salmon broodstock during 2006-2017
| Year |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broodstock sites |
17 |
20 |
20 |
11 |
10 |
11 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
In 2017, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock increased by one. The number of sites holding broodstock in any one year can be variable, as can be seen from the previous years' figures, which indicate no obvious trend. A total of 4,776 fish were stripped, yielding 12.6 million ova, giving an average yield of 2,638 ova per fish.
Organic Production
Table 39: Organic production of Atlantic salmon during 2010-2017
| Year |
Number of active cage sites |
Number of cage sites certified as organic |
Production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 |
247 |
14 |
6,122 |
| 2011 |
252 |
10 |
3,104 |
| 2012 |
255 |
7 |
4,597 |
| 2013 |
253 |
8 |
5,207 |
| 2014 |
257 |
8 |
3,588 |
| 2015 |
250 |
5 |
2,382 |
| 2016 |
248 |
5 |
3,903 |
| 2017 |
222 |
5 |
4,644 |
Of the 222 active Atlantic salmon seawater cage sites in 2017, five were certified as organic, producing 4,644 tonnes.
Escapes
There were five incidents involving the loss of 30,009 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon sites in 2017. There were six additional incidents reported where the companies confirmed there was no loss of fish.
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