Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025

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

Company and Site Data

In 2025, the number of companies authorised by the Scottish Government for freshwater production of Atlantic salmon remained at 14. A total of 76 sites were actively engaged in commercial production, an increase of 12 from the 2024 figure. These figures represent the entire freshwater Atlantic salmon sector operating in Scotland.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 12.

Production and Staffing

Chart 10 shows the total number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon ova and smolt production between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark blue line shows the combined number of full-time and part-time staff employed each year.

Chart 11 shows the number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon ova and smolt production by sex and employment status in 2025. The dark blue bars show the number of full-time and part-time staff in each category.

In 2025, the number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon ova and smolt production was 319, an increase of 39 staff (14%) compared with 2024. Of these staff, 260 were male and 59 were female. Productivity increased by 5% to 167,567 smolts produced per person.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 13.

Smolts by Age Group

Chart 12 shows Atlantic salmon smolts production by smolt type in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The magenta dashed line shows total smolt production (millions). The solid dark grey line shows S½ smolt production (millions), while the dashed blue line shows S1 smolt production (millions).

In 2025, total smolt production was 53.5 million, an increase of 20% from 2024. The number of S½ smolts produced increased by 19% to 27.3 million, while the number of S1 smolts produced increased by 21% to 26.1 million. No S1½ smolts were produced in 2025. Figures are rounded to one decimal place and therefore may not sum exactly.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 14.

Production Systems

Table 2 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolt production sites by production system in 2024 and 2025. Production systems include pens and tanks and raceways.

Table 3 shows the total production capacity of Atlantic salmon smolt production systems in 2024 and 2025. The table includes capacity (thousands of cubic metres) for pens, tanks and raceways, all production systems combined.

Atlantic salmon smolts are produced in freshwater using either pens or tanks and raceways. In 2025, the number of sites using pens increased by eight. In terms of capacity, pen capacity increased by 154,000 m³ and tank and raceway capacity increased by 5,000 m³. This resulted in an overall increase of 159,000 m³ in the production capacity available for Atlantic salmon smolt production in Scotland in 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 15.

Table 4 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolts produced in 2024 and 2025 by production system. Production systems include pens and tanks and raceways.

Table 5 shows the average stocking density used in Atlantic salmon smolt production in 2024 and 2025 by production system. Stocking density is measured as the number of smolts per cubic metre.

In 2025, 53.5 million Atlantic salmon smolts were produced in Scotland. Of these, 19.9 million were produced in pens and 33.6 million were produced in tanks and raceways.

The average stocking densities in pens decreased from 53 to 40 smolts per m³ between 2024 and 2025, while the average density in tanks and raceways increased from 289 to 350 smolts per m³.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 16.

Ova Production

Chart 13 shows Atlantic salmon ova production in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark blue line shows the annual number of ova produced (millions).

In 2025, approximately 63.7 million Atlantic salmon ova were stripped, an increase of 14% from 2024.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 17.

Chart 14 shows the number of Atlantic salmon ova laid down to hatch in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark blue line shows the annual number of ova laid down to hatch (millions).

In 2025, 90.5 million Atlantic salmon ova were laid down to hatch, an increase of 1% from 2024.

Table 6 shows the source and number of Atlantic salmon ova laid down to hatch between 2016 and 2025. The table includes ova derived from in-house broodstock, outsourced GB broodstock, GB wild broodstock and imported ova, together with the total number of ova laid down to hatch and the previous year’s estimate. A projected total for 2026 is also shown.

In 2025, 90.5 million ova were laid down to hatch, an increase of 1 million (1%) from 2024. Imported ova accounted for 43% of all ova laid down to hatch and decreased by 13.6 million (26%) compared with 2024. Supplies derived from GB broodstock, excluding ova of wild origin, increased by 14.6 million (40%) compared with 2024. In 2025, no 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 sector in cooperation with wild fisheries managers.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 18.

Smolts Produced and Put to Sea

Chart 15 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolts produced and the number of smolts put to sea in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark grey line shows the number of smolts produced, while the dashed blue line shows the number of smolts put to sea.

The figure for 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. In 2025, 53.6 million smolts were put to sea and 53.5 million smolts were produced. Smolt producers estimate that 54.0 million smolts will be put to sea in 2026. The ratio of ova laid down to hatch to smolts produced in 2025 was lower than the ratio in 2024.

Additional information on estimates and ratios can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 19.

Scale of Production

Chart 16 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolt production sites by production category in 2025. Sites were grouped into seven categories: less than 100,000 smolts; 100,001 to 250,000 smolts; 250,001 to 500,000 smolts; 500,001 to 1 million smolts; over 1 million to 2 million smolts; over 2 million to 3 million smolts; and more than 3 million smolts.

Note: These data refer only to sites producing smolts. Sites holding only ova, fry or parr are excluded. Production categories were revised in 2025 to better reflect the current distribution of production, with categories below 100,000 smolts combined and the category for sites producing more than 1 million smolts split into three groups.

The number of sites producing smolts in 2025 was 35. No sites produced fewer than 250,000 smolts. The largest number of sites (11) produced between 500,001 and 1 million smolts. A further 15 sites produced more than 1 million smolts, of which four produced more than 3 million smolts.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 20

Staff and Production of Ova and Smolts by Production Area

Chart 17 shows the number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon ova and smolt production across production areas in Scotland during 2025. The dark blue bars show the number of staff employed in the Western Isles, East & South, West, North West, Orkney and Shetland production areas and Scotland as a whole.

The greatest number of staff were employed in the North West area, with 205 staff.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 21.

Table 7 shows ova laid down to hatch, smolt production and estimated smolt production by production area. The table includes the number of ova laid down to hatch (thousands) in 2024 and 2025, smolt production (thousands) in 2024 and 2025, and estimated smolt production (thousands) in 2026 and 2027. Data are presented for the North West, Orkney, Shetland, West, Western Isles and East and South production areas, together with an All Scotland total.

In 2025, the North West and the West were the main areas where ova were laid down to hatch. The North West and the West were also the principal smolt-producing areas.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 21.

International Trade

Scotland has a high health status with regard to the listed diseases. Imports of Atlantic salmon must originate from a source that is of equal or higher health status and consignments must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent authority confirming that all requirements have been met.

Exports are subject to the health conditions placed by the importing country. Potential exporters should ascertain from the competent authority in the importing country any specific health testing requirements that may be a condition of import and obtain a copy of the required health certificate. The Fish Health Inspectorate will provide advice on whether the source site can fulfil the export requirements.

Imports and Exports

Table 8 shows imports of Atlantic salmon ova, fry, parr and smolts between 2021 and 2025 based on health certificate records. The table includes the source country and number of imported ova, fry, parr and smolts (thousands), together with annual totals.

The numbers of ova imported decreased by 20% in 2025. Imports of fry, parr and smolts also decreased, with 522,000 fish being imported from the Republic of Ireland during 2025.

No ova, fry, parr or smolts were exported in 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Tables 22a and 22b.

Vaccines

Table 9 shows the number of Atlantic salmon aquaculture sites using vaccines and the number of fish vaccinated between 2016 and 2025. This table includes the number of sites administering vaccines and the number of fish vaccinated (millions).

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, IPN and SAV, while smaller numbers were vaccinated against ERM and vibriosis. A total of 76.1 million fish were vaccinated across 38 sites.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 23.

Escapes

In 2025, two escape incidents were reported, involving the loss of 4,465 freshwater farmed Atlantic salmon.

Escapes data from previous annual surveys can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 46.