We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing experience.

Click 'Accept all cookies' to agree to all cookies that collect anonymous data. To only allow the cookies that make the site work, click 'Use essential cookies only.' Visit 'Set cookie preferences' to control specific cookies.

Set cookie preferences

Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

Publication - Statistics

Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2022

Published
4 October 2023
From
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Directorate
Marine Directorate
Part of
Marine and fisheries
ISBN
9781835213377

This report is based on the returns of an annual survey questionnaire sent to all active authorised fish farming businesses in Scotland during 2022. Statistics on employment, production and value are presented.

This document is part of a collection

View supporting documents Supporting documents

1. Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Production survey information was collected from all 20 companies actively involved in rainbow trout production, farming 46 active sites. This figure represents the entire industry operating in Scotland.

Production

Table 1a: Annual production (tonnes) of rainbow trout during 2008-2022 and projected production in 2023
Year Tonnes Percentage difference Year Tonnes Percentage difference
2008 7,670 3 2016 8,096 -6
2009 6,766 -12 2017 7,637 -6
2010 5,139 -24 2018 6,413 -16
2011 4,619 -10 2019 7,405 15
2012 5,670 23 2020 7,576 2
2013 5,611 -1 2021 8,156 8
2014 5,882 5 2022 8,757 7
2015 8,588 46 2023 8,708*

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

Production increased in 2022 by 601 tonnes, an increase of 7%, to 8,757 tonnes.

Table 1b: Production (tonnes) for the table trade during 2013-2022 according to weight category
Year <450 g 450-900 g >900 g Total
<1 lb 1-2 lbs >2 lbs Tonnes
2013 1,908 825 2,268 5,001
2014 2,334 290 2,704 5,328
2015 2,299 258 5,476 8,033
2016 2,393 234 4,810 7,437
2017 2,000 544 4,453 6,997
2018 803 223 4,848 5,874
2019 343 228 6,335 6,906
2020 403 164 6,465 7,032
2021 384 154 7,117 7,655
2022 345 188 7,651 8,757

Production for the table in 2022 was 8,184 tonnes, an increase of 529 tonnes (7%) on the 2021 total. This accounted for 93% of the total rainbow trout production, a decrease on the proportion to that produced in 2021. Also, an increase in the number of fish in the medium and large size ranges and a decrease in the number of fish in the small size range were observed.

Table 1c: Production (tonnes) for the restocking trade during 2013-2022 according to weight category
Year <450 g 450-900 g >900 g Total
<1 lb 1-2 lbs >2 lbs Tonnes
2013 24 221 365 610
2014 28 256 270 554
2015 15 158 382 555
2016 35 183 441 659
2017 10 150 480 640
2018 14 143 382 539
2019 16 113 370 499
2020 46 130 368 544
2021 14 128 359 501
2022 25 207 341 573

In 2022, production for the restocking of angling waters increased to 573 tonnes representing an increase of 72 tonnes (14%) on the 2021 total. This accounted for 7% of total rainbow trout production in 2022. These figures represent the tonnage of fish supplied to angling waters for restocking purposes; they do not account for the catch taken by anglers. There was an increase in the number of fish in the small and medium size ranges but a decrease in the number of fish in the large size range.

Production by Site

Table 2: Number of sites grouped by tonnage produced during 2013-2022
Year Number of sites per production tonnage Total number of sites
<1-25 26-100 101-200 >200
2013 6 11 5 8 30
2014 6 11 5 9 31
2015 4 10 5 11 30
2016 6 10 3 13 32
2017 4 8 5 11 28
2018 5 10 3 11 29
2019 5 9 4 10 28
2020 6 13 2 11 32
2021 4 10 3 10 27
2022 6 10 3 10 29

Production was reported from 29 of the 46 active sites. The number of producers in the <1-25 tonnes size bracket increased while those in the 26-100, 101-200 and >200 tonnes size brackets remained the same as in 2021. These figures do not include those sites specialising in the production of ova or young fish for on-growing.

Production by Method

Table 3: Grouping of rainbow trout sites by production tonnages, main methods of production in 2022 and comparison with production in 2021
Production method Production grouping (tonnes) in 2022 Total tonnage and (%) by method Number of sites
<10 10-25 26-50 51-100 >100 2021 2022 2021 2022
FW pens 1 0 0 0 5 1,976 (24%) 2,454 (28%) 5 6
FW ponds and raceways 1 2 5 3 3 968 (12%) 970 (11%) 13 14
FW tanks and hatcheries 2 0 0 1 0 68 (1%) 87 (1%) 3 3
SW pens 0 0 0 1 5 5,144 (63%) 5,246 (60%) 6 6
SW tanks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 2 5 5 13 8,156 8,757 27 29

Seawater production accounted for 5,246 tonnes (60%) and freshwater production the remaining 3,511 tonnes (40%). Production from facilities increased during 2022.

Company and Site Data

Table 4: Number of companies and sites in production during 2013-2022
Year No. of companies No. of sites
2013 24 46
2014 24 46
2015 24 45
2016 24 44
2017 23 44
2018 23 53
2019 22 52
2020 21 50
2021 22 48
2022 20 46

In 2022, the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government and actively engaged in rainbow trout production was 20. The number of sites registered and in production was 46.

Staffing and Productivity

Table 5: Number of staff employed and productivity per person during 2013-2022
Year Full-time Male Full-time Female Total Full-time Part-time Male Part-time Female Total Part-time Total Staff Productivity (tonnes/person)
2013 85 4 89 16 5 21 110 51.0
2014 86 7 93 13 7 20 113 52.1
2015 100 10 110 10 6 16 126 68.2
2016 90 10 100 15 6 21 121 66.9
2017 98 12 110 15 7 22 132 57.9
2018 103 8 111 17 8 25 136 47.2
2019 103 11 114 21 9 30 144 51.4
2020 97 13 110 20 4 24 134 56.5
2021 107 16 123 19 4 23 146 55.9
2022 105 13 118 16 4 20 138 63.5

The overall number of staff employed in 2022 decreased by eight to 138. The number of full-time staff decreased by five while the number of part-time staff decreased by three. Productivity, measured as tonnes produced per person, increased by 13% in 2022 with no distinction between full and part-time employees being made for this calculation.

Production by Area

Table 6: Production and staffing by area in 2022
Area No. of sites Table production (tonnes) Restocking production (tonnes) Total production (tonnes) Mean tonnes per site Staffing Productivity (tonnes/person)
F/T P/T Total
North* 8 1,120 33 1,153 144.1 9 2 11 104.8
East 12 935 256 1,191 99.3 35 9 44 27.1
West 15 5,587 5 5,592 372.8 51 4 55 101.7
South 11 542 279 821 74.6 23 5 28 29.3
All 46 8,184 573 8,757 190.6 118 20 138 63.5

*From 2018, the North area also included production and staff from the Western Isles and from 2021 production and staff from Orkney was also included

Productivity was greatest in the West at 372.8 tonnes per site while productivity per person was greatest in the North at 104.8 tonnes per person.

Figure 1: The regional distribution of active rainbow trout sites in 2022

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 OS (100024655)

Type of Ova Laid Down

Table 7: Number (000's) and proportions (%) of eyed ova types laid down to hatch during 2013-2022
Year All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%) Total ova
2013 7,857 (80) 1,955 (20) 77 (<1) 9,889
2014 8,321 (75) 2,710 (25) 9 (<1) 11,040
2015 10,245 (85) 1,800 (15) 76 (<1) 12,121
2016 7,986 (80) 1,943 (20) 5 (<1) 9,934
2017 2,366 (34) 4,670 (66) 5 (<1) 7,041
2018 1,460 (23) 4,843 (77) 15 (<1) 6,318
2019 1,077 (16) 5,369 (82) 105 (2) 6,551
2020 286 (5) 5,943 (95) 15 (<1) 6,244
2021 2 (<1) 4,877 (<100) 15 (<1) 4,894
2022 8 (<1) 4,138 (<100) 5 (<1) 4,151

Source of Ova Laid Down

Table 8: Number (000's) and sources of eyed ova laid down to hatch in 2013-2022
Year Ova produced in Great Britain (GB) Imported ova Total ova laid down
Own stock Other stock Total Northern hemisphere Southern hemisphere Total Imported
2013 77 537 614 9,275 0 9,275 9,889
2014 9 655 664 10,376 0 10,376 11,040
2015 6 888 894 11,227 0 11,227 12,121
2016 35 349 384 9,550 0 9,550 9,934
2017 20 547 567 6,474 0 6,474 7,041
2018 15 495 510 5,808 0 5,808 6,318
2019 10 22 32 6,519 0 6,519 6,551
2020 15 1,552 1,567 3,712 965 4,677 6,244
2021 181 1,068 1,249 3,645 0 3,645 4,894
2022 740 774 1,514 2,637 0 2,637 4,151

In 2022, the total number of eyed ova laid down to hatch decreased by 0.7 million (15%) on the 2021 figure. Imported ova all came from the Northern hemisphere during 2022. The proportion of ova from GB broodstock increased (36% of the total) and the rainbow trout industry remained reliant on imported ova. Data on the importation of ova into Scotland are also available from the health certificates and are shown in Table 9a. Any discrepancy between the figures in Tables 8 and 9a is due to data being obtained from two independent sources.

Imports from Official Import Health Certificates

Table 9a: Number (000's) and sources of ova imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2013-2022
Source 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Denmark 1,315 2,500 2,330 5,535 3,518 3,728 5,567 3,703 1,861 0
Isle of Man 800 1,000 175 20 300 0 0 0 0 0
N. Ireland 5,125 4,780 6,535 3,040 1,240 1,085 380 150 0 0
Norway 175 710 670 500 774 0 0 0 0 0
South Africa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,225 0 0
Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 180 828 428
USA 2,350 1,700 1,675 750 0 855 430 0 950 2,330
Totals 9,765 10,690 11,385 9,845 5,832 5,668 6,437 5,258 3,639 2,758
Table 9b: Seasonal variation in numbers (000's) and sources of ova imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2022
Month Spain USA
January 0 160
February 0 100
March 0 410
April 280 500
May 0 0
June 0 100
July 0 0
August 0 100
September 0 560
October 148 300
November 0 100
December 0 0
Totals 428 2,330
Table 9c: Number (000's) and sources of fish imported into Scotland from outwith GB during 2013-2022
Source 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
N. Ireland 537 674 746 592 486 391 935 787 463 609

Suppliers from the USA accounted for 84% of ova imported into Scotland during 2022, with suppliers from within the European Union (EU)accounting for the remaining 16%. In recent years there has been a trend for producers to import part grown rainbow trout into Scotland from Northern Ireland.

Trade in Fry and Fingerlings

Table 10: Number (000's) of fry and fingerlings traded during 2013-2022
Year Fry and fingerlings bought Total number bought Total number sold
All female diploid no. (%) Triploid no. (%) Mixed sex diploid no. (%)
2013 6,734 (84) 1,239 (16) 0 7,973 6,749
2014 5,911 (81) 1,423 (19) 0 7,334 6,719
2015 6,104 (87) 598 (9) 290 (4) 6,992 6,971
2016 6,452 (85) 1,125 (15) 0 7,577 6,779
2017 3,989 (73) 1,446 (27) 0 5,435 4,145
2018 979 (42) 1,361 (58) 0 2,340 2,383
2019 861 (25) 2,532 (75) 0 3,393 2,832
2020 937 (33) 1,916 (67) 0 2,853 2,544
2021 417 (13) 2,711 (87) 2 (<1) 3,130 3,389
2022 29 (1) 2,763 (99) 1 (<1) 2,793 2,975

The established trade between hatcheries and on-growing farms continued in 2022. Some companies specialised in fry and fingerling production. The total number of fry and fingerlings bought decreased by 11% and the number sold decreased by 12%. The disparity between supply and demand is due to trade with England and Wales.

Use of Vaccines

Table 11: Number of sites rearing fish vaccinated against enteric redmouth disease (ERM) and number of fish vaccinated (millions) during 2013-2022
Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
No. of sites 19 21 17 18 18 17 21 18 19 18
No. of fish 9.9 10.0 8.3 7.3 5.4 3.4 3.4 2.8 3.1 2.8

Vaccines continued to be used as a preventative treatment against enteric redmouth disease (ERM), a potentially serious bacterial infection, caused by Yersinia ruckeri. Vaccination is generally carried out as a bath treatment at the fingerling stage, although some vaccines are administered by intra-peritoneal injection. A total of 2.8 million fish were vaccinated on 18 sites.

Organic Production

Of the 46 sites recorded as being active in rainbow trout production in 2022, none were certified as organic.

Escapes

There was one incident involving the loss of 3,918 fish from a rainbow trout site in 2022. There were two additional incidents reported where the company confirmed there was no loss of fish.

Contact

Email: lorna.munro@gov.scot

Back to top