Freshwater production decrease

Siri Elise Dybdal

According to the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2013, the total production in 2013 grew by 0.6% compared to 2013. The estimated harvest forecast for 2014 of 162,374 tonnes is just under the tonnage produced in 2013.

The number of staff directly employed on the farms also increased by 27. Overall, however, there was a decrease in the productivity of tonnes produced per person from 153.2 to 150.3.

The survey shows decreases in the production of grilse and salmon, but an increase in the production of pre-salmon.

The trend towards concentrating production in larger sites was maintained, with 78% of production being concentrated in the sites producing over 1,000 tonnes per annum.

In 2013, there was a slight decrease in the number of ova produced to 56.9 million. The number of ova laid down to hatch increased by 5.3% to 66.6 million. This highlights the trend towards using foreign ova sources, with 62.1% of the ova laid down to hatch being imported. The main sources of imported ova were Norway (72.3%, of total ova imported) and Northern Ireland (22.1% of total ova imported).

Smolt production decreased to 40.5 million, a drop of 8.7% compared with 2012. The number of staff directly employed on freshwater sites decreased by 43 and productivity increased to 142,000 fish per person. However, due to consolidation within the industry, there are uncertainties with these staffing and productivity figures.

Projections suggest that slightly fewer smolts will be produced in 2014, followed by an increase in 2015.