Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025

3. Atlantic Salmon - Production

Production

Production survey information was collected from all nine companies actively involved in Atlantic salmon production, farming 210 active sites. This figure represents the entire sector operating in Scotland.

Chart 18 shows annual Atlantic salmon production in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark blue line shows annual production in tonnes.

The total production of Atlantic salmon in 2025 was 197,836 tonnes, an increase of 5,836 tonnes (3%) from the 2024 total. Production in 2026 is estimated to be 199,200 tonnes. This is a sector estimate based on stocks currently being on-grown.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 24.

Chart 19 shows Atlantic salmon production by year class at harvest in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The dashed blue line shows production of year 1 Atlantic salmon in tonnes. The lower solid dark blue line shows the year 0 Atlantic salmon production while the dark red dashed line shows production of year 2 Atlantic salmon.

In 2025 1,306 tonnes of year 0 Atlantic salmon (2025 input fish) were harvested, with a mean weight 2.2 kg. In addition, 115,315 tonnes of year 1 Atlantic salmon (2024 input fish) were harvested, with a mean weight 5.3 kg, while 81,215 tonnes of year 2 Atlantic salmon (2023 input fish) were harvested, with a mean weight 6.7 kg.

Additional data on the number, production (tonnes) and mean fish weights (kg) of year 0, year 1 and year 2 Atlantic salmon can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 25.

Harvest of year 1 fish were also reported as grilse (year 1 fish harvested between January and August) and pre-salmon (year 1 fish harvested between September and December). In 2025, 82,407 tonnes of grilse, with a mean weight of 5.5 kg, were harvested, together with 32,908 tonnes of pre-salmon, with a mean weight of 4.9 kg.

Additional data on the number, production (tonnes) and mean weights (kg) of grilse and pre-salmon can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 26.

Table 10 shows the percentage of annual Atlantic salmon production, by weight, harvested at each growth stage between 2021 and 2025. Growth stages include input year fish (year 0), grilse, pre-salmon and year 2 salmon.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 27.

Table 11 shows survival to harvest for Atlantic salmon year classes between 2016 and 2025. The table includes smolt input numbers (thousands) and the percentage of each year class harvested as year 0, year 1 and year 2 Atlantic salmon, together with the total percentage harvested (survival to harvest)

In 2023, the most recent year for which survival to harvest can be calculated, the survival rate from smolt input to harvest increased to 68.8%. Of the 2024 year class, 47.5% of the input had been harvested by the end of 2025, 3.4% higher than the proportion harvested from the 2023 year class at the same stage. In 2025, 1.1% of fish from the 2025 input year class were harvested. This is higher than the proportion harvested from the 2024 input year class during its first year.

Additional details on fish numbers and production (tonnes) harvested can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 28.

Smolts to Sea

Table 12 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolts put to sea from between 2016 and 2025. The table includes the number of S½, S1 and S1½ smolts transferred to sea, together with the total number of smolts put to sea.

Table 13 shows the number and origin of Atlantic salmon smolts put to sea between 2016 and 2025. The table includes the number and percentage of smolts of Scottish, English and Other origin.

The total number of smolts put to sea in 2025 was 53.6 million. This smolt input comprised S½ smolts (46%) and S1 smolts (54%). No S1½s were produced in 2025. Three percent of the smolts stocked to Scottish salmon farms were sourced from outwith Scotland in 2025, with 1% originating from outwith GB. The overall proportion sourced from outwith Scotland was unchanged from 2024.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 29.

Survival to harvest and production in smolt year classes by production area

Table 14: Number of Atlantic salmon smolts put to sea and year class survival to harvest by production area, 2021-2025.

Table 14 shows the number of Atlantic salmon smolts put to sea and year class survival to harvest by production area between 2021 and 2025. Data are presented for the North West, Orkney, Shetland, South West and Western Isles production areas. The table includes smolt inputs (thousands), the percentage harvested as year 0, year 1 and year 2 fish, and the total percentage of the year class harvested (survival to harvest).

Additional details on fish numbers harvested can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 30.

Chart 20 shows survival to harvest for the 2023 Atlantic salmon year class across the five production areas: North West, Orkney, Shetland, South West and Western Isles. The dark blue bars show the percentage of each year class harvested (survival to harvest) in each production area.

Note: Data shown is for 2023, the most recent year for which survival to harvest can be calculated.

For the 2023 year class, Shetland recorded the highest survival to harvest rate of the five production areas at 80.4%. This represented an increase compared with the 2022 year class. Survival to harvest also increased in Orkney, the South West and the Western Isles, while the North West experienced a small decline. The largest increase was recorded in the South West. The average survival to harvest across all production areas was 68.8% for the 2023 year class. Shetland, the South West and Orkney were above this average, while the North West and Western Isles were below it.

Additional details on fish numbers harvested can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 30.

Staffing

Chart 21 shows total number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon 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 22 shows the number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon 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.

Note: FT = Full-time and PT = Part-time

In 2025, the number of staff employed in salmon production was 1,410, an increase of 48 staff (4%) compared with 2024. Of these staff, 1,257 were male and 153 were female. The staffing figures collected refer specifically to Atlantic salmon production and do not include staff involved in processing or marketing activities. Productivity decreased from 141 tonnes per person in 2024 to 140 tonnes per person in 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 31.

Production Methods

Table 15 compares Atlantic salmon production methods in 2024 and 2025. This table includes the number of operational sites, the total cubic capacity (cubic metres), production (tonnes) and stocking density (kg/m3) for seawater production systems.

In 2025, all Atlantic salmon were produced in seawater pens, with no production reported from seawater tank sites. This reflects the high installation and operating costs associated with seawater tank systems. Most seawater tank capacity has been redeployed for the production of other marine finfish species or salmon broodstock.

Seawater pen capacity increased by 38,000 m³ in 2025, while the number of seawater pen sites in production decreased by five. Stocking density in seawater pens, measured as the ratio of fish production (kg) to pen capacity (m³), increased from 7.3 kg/m³ in 2024 to 7.4 kg/m³ in 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 32.

Scale of Production by Site

Chart 23 shows the number of Atlantic salmon production sites by production category in 2025. The seven production categories are 0 tonnes, 1 to 500 tonnes, 501 to 1,000 tonnes, 1,001 to 2,000 tonnes, 2,001 to 3,000 tonnes, 3,001 to 4,000 tonnes and over 4,000 tonnes.

In 2025, the number of sites with no production decreased by two while the number of sites producing 1 to 1,000 tonnes decreased by five. The number of sites producing 1,001 to 4,000 tonnes decreased by one, while sites producing more than 4,000 tonnes increased by three. The trend towards production in larger sites continued, with 91% of total production derived from sites producing more than 1,000 tonnes.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 33.

Table 16 shows the number of Atlantic salmon companies by production category in 2024 and 2025. Production categories are 0 to 1,000 tonnes, 1,001 to 5,000 tonnes, 5,001 to 10,000 tonnes and more than 10,000 tonnes. The table includes the number of companies, production (tonnes), staff and productivity (tonnes per person) for each production category.

The highest productivity, at 150 tonnes per person, was achieved by companies producing more than 10,000 tonnes, while the lowest productivity, at 21 tonnes per person, was recorded by companies producing up to 1,000 tonnes. Compared with 2024, average company productivity decreased from 141 to 140 tonnes per person. Overall, production was dominated by four companies in 2025, which between them accounted for 95% of Scotland’s farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 34.

Staff and Production by Production Area

Chart 24 shows Atlantic salmon production by production area in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark grey line shows production in the North West, the solid purple line shows production in Shetland, the solid orange line shows production in the Western Isles, the green dashed line shows production in the South West and the dark blue dashed line shows production in Orkney.

Chart 25 shows the number of staff employed in Atlantic salmon production across production areas in Scotland during 2025. The dark blue bars show the number of staff employed in the Western Isles, South West, North West, Orkney, Shetland production areas, and Scotland as a whole.

Further data on Atlantic salmon production and employment by area, together with details of year class harvest, mean weight (kg) of fish and estimated production for 2026, can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025 Supplementary Tables, Table 35.

Company and Site Data

Chart 26 shows the number of Atlantic salmon companies operating in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The blue dashed line shows the total number of companies. The dark blue dashed line shows the number of producing companies, while the solid dark grey line shows the number of non-producing companies.

Chart 27 shows the number of Atlantic salmon sites operating in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid purple line shows the total number of sites. The solid orange line shows the number of producing sites, while the solid green line shows the number of non-producing sites.

The number of companies authorised and actively producing Atlantic salmon in 2025 decreased by one to six. Three companies were authorised and active, but did not produce salmon for harvest in 2025. These nine companies had 210 registered active sites, although not all these sites produced fish for harvest during the year.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 36

Fallowing

Chart 28 shows the number of seawater pen sites in each fallow period category during 2025. The fallow period categories are 0 weeks, 1-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-26 weeks, 27-51 weeks and 52 weeks.

Of the 209 seawater pen sites recorded as active in 2025, 45 sites were fallow for the entire year, while 145 sites were fallow for a variable period. Nineteen sites did not fallow in 2025. The normal production cycle in seawater varies from 12 months to two years. A fallow period at the end of production can help break the cycle of disease or parasitic infections.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 37.

Broodstock Sites

In 2025, the number of freshwater and seawater sites holding broodstock remained at six sites. A total of 8,868 fish were stripped, yielding 63.7 million ova, giving an average yield of 7,185 ova per fish.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 17 and Table 38.

Organic Production

Chart 29 shows organic salmon production in Scotland between 2016 and 2025. The solid dark blue line shows annual organic production in tonnes.

Of the 209 active Atlantic salmon seawater pen sites in 2025, eight were certified as organic and produced 14,216 tonnes of Atlantic salmon. Organic production accounted for 7% of the total annual Atlantic salmon production in 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 39.

Escapes

There were three incidents involving the loss of 75,764 fish from seawater Atlantic salmon production sites in 2025. A further five incidents were reported where companies confirmed no fish were lost.

Additional information on escapes reported in previous annual surveys can be found in the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2025, Supplementary Tables, Table 46.