Scottish fish farm production survey 2018

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


4. Other Species

The Scottish aquaculture industry has continued to farm other species of fish during 2018. The production of brown trout (Salmo trutta) showed a decrease, with the majority of production being for the angling restocking market. In 2018 there was production of halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) but the figure cannot be published without revealing the production from an individual company. No Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) were produced during 2018. Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) and several species of wrasse (Labridae) were also produced in 2018. The production of lumpsucker and wrasse are targeted at the marine Atlantic salmon industry where they are used as a biological control for parasites.

Company, Site and Production Data

Table 40: Number of companies and sites producing other species in 2018, annual production of other species (tonnes) during 2015-2018 and estimated production in 2019

Species No. of companies No. of sites 2015
Production tonnage
2016
Production tonnage
2017
Production tonnage
2018
Production tonnage
2019
Production tonnage*
Arctic charr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brown trout/
sea trout
9 12 42 41 61 20 25
Halibut 1 3 56 67
Lumpsucker 2 4 6 10 26 14 12
Wrasse spp. 3 5 3 4 4 6 5

* Industry estimates based on stocks currently being on-grown.

† Production occurred but this cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

‡ Estimate provided but cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

Staffing

Table 41: Number of staff employed in farming other species during 2009-2018

Year Full-time Part-time Total
2009 23 22 45
2010 19 24 43
2011 24 19 43
2012 25 21 46
2013 29 21 50
2014 29 20 49
2015 35 15 50
2016 43 20 63
2017 45 17 62
2018 45 15 60

In 2018, the overall number of staff employed in the production of other species decreased by two, to 60 staff.

Production of Cleaner fish

Table 42: Number (000’s) of cleaner fish produced during 2015-2018

Species Number of fish produced (000’s)
2015 2016 2017 2018
Lumpsucker 235 262 925 553
Wrasse spp. 75 118 58 103

In recent years lumpsucker and wrasse spp. have been produced for use as a biological control for parasites in the marine Atlantic salmon industry. Data on the number of fish produced has only been collected since 2015. As data for future years is collected it will show trends in cleaner fish production.

Ova Laid Down to Hatch

Table 43: Source of ova from other species laid down to hatch during 2018

Species Source of ova laid down to hatch (000’s)
Own broodstock Other GB broodstock Foreign ova
Brown trout/sea trout 499 0 0
Halibut § 0 0
Lumpsucker 0 0 1,500
Wrasse spp. 37,000 0 0

Trade in Small Fish

Table 44: Trade in small fish of other species in 2018

Species Bought (000’s) Sold (000’s)
Halibut 0 #
Brown trout/sea trout 55 4
Lumpsucker 2,200 694
Wrasse spp. 0 751

# During 2018 there was trade of small halibut but figures cannot be shown without revealing the figure for an individual company.

There was also a small amount of production of brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) and tiger trout (Salmo trutta x Salvelinus fontinalis ). However, due to the small number of companies in production, it is not possible to summarise these data without revealing the production of individual companies.

Organic Production

Of the 24 sites recorded as producing other species in 2018, no organic production was reported.

Escapes

There were no reported escapes from sites rearing other species during 2018.

Contact

Email: Lorna.Munro@gov.scot

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