Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2019

2. Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) - Ova and Smolts

Production survey information was collected from all 23 companies actively involved in the freshwater production of Atlantic salmon, farming 76 active sites. This figure represents the entire freshwater industry operating in Scotland.

Company and Site Data

Table 12: Number of companies and sites in production during 2010-2019

Year	No. of companies	No. of sites
2010	31	104
2011	28	98
2012	28	100
2013	27	102
2014	26	96
2015	25	87
2016	26	87
2017	24	79
2018	24	71
2019	23	76

In 2019, the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government for freshwater production of Atlantic salmon decreased by one to 23. A total of 76 sites were actively engaged in commercial production, an increase of five from the 2018 figure.

Production and Staffing

Table 13: Number (000’s) of smolts produced, staff employed and smolt productivity during 2010-2019

Year	Number (000’s) of Smolts produced	Full-time Male	Full-time Female	Total Full-time	Part-time Male	Part-time Female	Total Part-time	Total Staff	Productivity (000’s) smolts per person
2010	36,872	213	20	233	42	14	56	289	127.6
2011	43,626	207	18	225	45	23	68	293	148.9
2012	44,324	218	17	235	60	33	93	328	135.1
2013	40,457	226	11	237	29	19	48	285	142.0
2014	45,004	226	18	244	42	23	65	309	145.6
2015	44,571	208	31	239	41	14	55	294	151.6
2016	42,894	225	27	252	35	7	42	294	145.9
2017	46,152	219	31	250	33	8	41	291	158.6
2018	47,097	210	29	239	30	9	39	278	169.4
2019	51,430	215	32	247	26	8	34	281	183.0

Smolt production in 2019 increased by 9% compared to 2018. The number of staff employed in 2019 increased by three and productivity increased by 8% to a figure of 183,000 smolts produced per person.

Data for staffing and productivity in 2013 are shown, however, there are uncertainties with these data due to consolidation within the industry.

Smolts by Age Group

Table 14: Number of smolts (000’s) produced by type during 2010-2019

Year	S½	S1	S1½	Total
2010	14,116	22,756	0	36,872
2011	17,233	26,393	0	43,626
2012	18,795	25,239	290	44,324
2013	19,024	21,279	154	40,457
2014	22,367	22,473	164	45,004
2015	23,850	20,711	10	44,571
2016	25,072	17,822	0	42,894
2017	28,072	18,080	0	46,152
2018	24,058	23,039	0	47,097
2019	25,607	25,823	0	51,430

In 2019, there were increases in the numbers of S½ (6.4%) and S1 (12.1%) smolts produced. There was no production of S1½ smolts in 2019.

Production Systems

Table 15: Number and capacity of production systems during 2015-2019

System		No. of sites with system						Total capacity, 000’s cubic metres
Year		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Cages		38	38	36	27	27		355	400	357	346	351
Tanks and Raceways		49	49	43	44	49		47	46	55	54	68
Total		87	87	79	71	76		402	446	412	400	419

The types of facility used for the production of smolts in freshwater are cages or tanks and raceways. In 2019, the number of farms using cages remained the same as in 2018 and the number of farms using tanks and raceways increased by five. In terms of volume, cage capacity increased by 5,000 m³ and tank and raceway capacity increased by 14,000 m³. This resulted in a net increase in volume of 19,000 m³ available for the production of smolts in Scotland during 2019.

Table 16: Number (000’s) of smolts produced and stocking densities by production system during 2015-2019

		Number of smolts produced (000’s)						Stocking densities (smolts/m3)
Year		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Cages		18,135	15,884	17,207	21,771	18,964		51	40	48	63	54
All others		26,436	27,010	28,945	25,326	32,466		562	587	526	469	477
Total		44,571	42,894	46,152	47,097	51,430		-	-	-	-	-

The average stocking densities of cages decreased from 63 to 54 smolts per m³ in 2019 compared to 2018, while densities in tanks and raceways increased from 469 to 477 smolts per m³.

Ova Production

Table 17: Number (000’s) of salmon ova produced during 2010-2019

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
No. of ova	91,655	78,208	57,489	56,904	33,450	11,605	13,689	12,631	15,228	11,618

In 2019, 11.6 million ova were stripped, a decrease of 24% from the number of ova produced in 2018.

Table 18: Source, number (000’s), previous year’s estimate of ova laid down to hatch during 2010-2019 and projected production for 2020

Year	In-house broodstock	Out-sourced GB broodstock	GB wild broodstock	Foreign ova	Total	Previous year's estimate
2010	13,744	26,220	0	29,657	69,621	61,011
2011	15,664	14,630	0	34,322	64,616	54,526
2012	18,556	9,981	0	34,700	63,237	55,723
2013	16,996	8,263	0	41,315	66,573	49,249
2014	14,418	2,725	10	53,684	70,837	48,149
2015	6,479	223	10	61,463	68,175	65,284
2016	5,884	4	0	58,458	64,346	59,604
2017	6,228	360	0	59,158	65,746	60,673
2018	8,780	200	0	61,499	70,479	67,374
2019	5,516	1,724	75	63,931	71,246	71,571
2020						70,598

The number of ova laid down to hatch was 71.2 million, an increase of 0.8 million (1.1%) on the 2018 figure. The majority of the ova (89.7%) were derived from foreign sources, this being an increase of 2.4 million (4.0%) on the 2018 figure. Supplies derived from GB broodstock decreased by 1.7 million, an 18.5% decrease on the 2018 figure. In 2019, 75,000 ova from GB wild broodstock were laid down to hatch, ova derived from wild stocks are generally held and hatched for wild stock enhancement by the aquaculture industry in cooperation with wild fisheries managers.

Smolts Produced and Put to Sea

Table 19: Actual and projected smolt production and smolts put to sea (millions) during 2010-2021

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Actual smolts put to sea	38.5	42.7	41.1	40.9	48.1	45.5	43.0	46.1	45.4	53.0
Smolts produced	36.9	43.6	44.3	40.5	45.0	44.6	42.9	46.2	47.1	51.4
Estimated production	28.7	35.9	31.3	28.1	39.9	43.4	36.6	39.3	46.1	38.6	52.1	56.6
Ratio of ova laid down to smolts produced	1.9	1.5	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.4

The figure for the number of smolts put to sea includes smolts produced in England and smolts imported from elsewhere, whereas smolt production data relate only to those produced in Scotland. Smolt producers estimate putting 52.1 million smolts to sea in 2020. The ratio of ova laid down to hatch to smolts produced in 2019 was less than the ratio in 2018.

Scale of Production

Table 20: Smolt-producing sites grouped by numbers (000’s) of smolts produced during 2010‑2019

Year	Scale of production								No. of sites in production	Total smolts produced
	1-10	11-25	26-50	51-100	101-250	251-500	501-1,000	>1,000
2010	1	0	4	4	16	15	10	14	64	36,872
2011	1	0	4	5	11	14	9	17	61	43,626
2012	0	0	1	3	19	14	11	13	61	44,324
2013	1	0	1	7	14	14	7	14	58	40,457
2014	0	0	2	1	11	9	14	13	50	45,004
2015	1	1	2	4	9	11	16	11	55	44,571
2016	1	1	0	3	7	11	13	12	48	42,894
2017	1	0	0	2	6	11	10	15	45	46,152
2018	0	1	0	0	6	9	14	12	42	47,097
2019	1	0	0	2	8	8	10	16	45	51,430

Note: These data refer only to sites producing smolts. The sites holding only ova, fry or parr are excluded.

The number of sites producing smolts in 2019 was 45. The number of sites producing less than 101,000 smolts increased by two and there has also been an increase of four in the number of sites producing in excess of one million smolts per year. The number of sites producing between 101,000 and one million smolts per year decreased by three.

Production of Ova and Smolt by Production Area

Table 21: Staffing in 2019, ova laid down to hatch in 2018-2019, smolt production in 2018-2019 and estimated production in 2020-2021 by region

Region	Number of staff employed in 2019			Ova laid down to hatch (000’s)			Smolt production (000’s)			Estimated smolt production (000’s)
	F/T	P/T		2018	2019		2018	2019		2020	2021
North West	130	15		41,362	34,519		28,975	29,660		25,397	29,896
Orkney	1	2		0	0		108	102		100	140
Shetland	25	1		5,708	6,512		3,287	4,560		4,350	4,500
West	56	11		16,673	23,221		10,451	11,772		17,799	17,059
Western Isles	31	2		6,694	6,952		3,514	4,362		3,835	4,285
East and South	4	3		42	42		762	974		616	700
All Scotland	247	34		70,479	71,246		47,097	51,430		52,097	56,580

In 2019, the North West and the West were the main areas where ova were laid down to hatch. The North West and the West were the main smolt producing areas. The greatest number of staff were employed in the North West region.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 OS (100024655)

International Trade in Ova

Since the introduction of the EU single market on 1^st January 1993 and the associated Fish Health Regulations common to all EU member states, a trade in live salmon and ova has been established. In addition, the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement allows trade between the EU and the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Trade is based on the same rules as are established within the EU regarding compartments and zones declared free from listed diseases.

Trade with Third Countries has also been established, but only from sites that have met the same health standards as are established within the EU regarding the approval of farms and zones for listed diseases. Exports to countries outside the EU are subject to the health conditions placed by the importing country. Marine Scotland Science advises potential exporters to ascertain with the importing country any specific health testing requirements that may be a condition of import.

Imports and Exports

Table 22a: Source and number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts imported during 2010-2019 derived from health certificates

Import Year		Ova						Fry, Parr and Smolts
	EU Member States	EFTA			Total			EU Member States	EFTA - Norway
		Iceland	Norway
2010	2,150	0	26,533		28,683			452	0
2011	3,400	0	35,851		39,251			800	0
2012	10,134	0	23,849		33,983			0	0
2013	10,700	2,719	35,044		48,463			55	0
2014	5,218	3,813	49,831		58,862			1,602	1,748
2015	4,815	8,978	45,926		59,719			2,118	365
2016	5,444	5,324	38,602		49,370			1,956	0
2017	7,000	13,883	37,025		57,908			2,012	0
2018	7,250	10,116	48,430		65,796			1,700	0
2019	10,184	26,352	23,673		60,209			297	0

The numbers of ova imported decreased by 8.5%. The number of fry, parr and smolts imported decreased from that observed in 2018, with 0.3 million imported from EU member states.

Table 22b: Destination and number (000’s) of salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts exported during 2010-2019 derived from health certificates

Export year	Farmed origin ova								Total			Fry, Parr and Smolts
			EU		Norway		Others
2010		189		600		0		789			130
2011		0		0		820		820			183
2012		0		0		0		0			55
2013		650		0		0		650			404
2014		0		0		0		0			259
2015		93		0		2		95			8
2016		335		0		23		358			173
2017		16		0		323		339			206
2018		23		0		0		23			71
2019		0		0		0		0			263

In 2019, no ova were exported. Fry, parr and smolt exports increased by 192,000 fish on the 2018 figure.

Vaccines

Table 23: Number of sites using vaccines and number (millions) of fish vaccinated during 2010-2019

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
No. of sites	70	67	63	63	56	55	47	46	43	46
No. of fish (millions) vaccinated	42.6	49.2	48.1	47.5	44.7	48.0	42.6	58.4	51.0	52.4

Vaccines were used to provide protection against furunculosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN), ERM, vibriosis and salmonid alphavirus (SAV). The majority of fish were vaccinated against furunculosis, vibriosis and IPN, with smaller numbers of fish being vaccinated against ERM and SAV. A total of 52.4 million fish were vaccinated across 46 sites.

Escapes

In 2019, there was one incident involving the loss of 4,465 fish from a site rearing freshwater Atlantic salmon.