Salmon boost Crown Estate Scotland’s coffers

Aquaculture contributed more money to Crown Estate Scotland (CES) than any other of its five portfolios, the organisation revealed in its 2017-18 annual report.

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CES earned gross revenue of £4.6 million from aquaculture, mostly from salmon farming. The figure was £1.3m higher than the budget target of £3.3m, largely because of the recent five-yearly rent review for finfish which resulted in a 22% increase of fees for farmed salmon from 22.5p/kg to 27.5p/kg gutted weight. Higher-than-anticipated salmon production figures also increased CES income.

The report’s authors warned that 2018-19 may therefore see finfish income drop, as aquaculture income is impacted by fish health management year-to-year, market demands and global trends – and potentially trading tariffs in the longer-term.

CES earned more from aquaculture than other portfolios. Click to enlarge image. Graphic: CES

Increased value

The Marine (Aquaculture) portfolio was valued at March 31, 2018 at £27m, an increase of 13.9% compared to the £23.7m valuation at April 1, 2017. The value increase largely reflects the increase in finfish revenue.

Aquaculture-related activity included continuing to explore a means for successful wild and farmed fish interactions management with a commitment of £25,000 each year for three years (2017-18 – 2019-20) for a wild fish lice-monitoring protocol pilot led by Fisheries Management Scotland.

CES said it achieved strong results in an independent tenant satisfaction survey with overall performance rated at 8.2 out of 10 by shellfish tenants and 7.2 by finfish tenants.

Assessing how helpful its five-yearly rent reviews are for giving tenants certainty, shellfish tenants rated the reviews as helpful, scoring 7.3 (on a scale of 1 (a little helpful) to 10 (very helpful)) and finfish tenants rated them 6.6.

Simon Hodge: "High quality tenant service."

Marine energy

The Marine (Energy and Infrastructure) portfolio, valued at £124.5m, was Crown Estate Scotland’s second-biggest income stream, earning it £4.1m. The Rural (agriculture, forestry, minerals and naturally-occurring gold and silver) portfolio brought in £3.5m, and the Coastal sector – ports and harbours, moorings, pontoons, dredging and outfalls) – made £3.3m.

The CES Urban portfolio – which consists of retail and office spaces at 39-40 George Street, Edinburgh – made £900,000.

Overall, Crown Estate Scotland, which was in its first year of operation, contributed £9m to public finances, £3m above target.

In a joint statement at the beginning of the report, chief executive Simon Hodge and chair Amanda Bryan say: “We are very proud of what we have achieved over our first year. We are fully established, fully functioning and financially sound.”

They add: “We have sustained high quality tenant service and are continually investing in partnerships and relationships. We are laying the foundations for increasing the future contribution of the Scottish Crown Estate to a successful Scotland.”

The annual report and a highlights booklet can be downloaded here.