30 years of Scottish Aquaculture
ess of consolidation has continued – by 2008 there were only 35 companies with 257 active sites. What’s more, in the same year, nine of these companies produced 95 per cent of the country’s farmed salmon, while in 1996 15 companies pro- duced 70 per cent.
This process of consolidation was mirrored by another main trend: the increasing influence of Norwegian companies within Scotland. Indeed, most of the larger salmon-farming companies were now part of Norwegian-owned multi-nationals. Only a few relatively small salmon farming companies re- mained in British hands by the end of the decade. One notable reversal in the trend was the investment in early 2009 by a UK-based investor in struggling Lighthouse Caledonia. Fresh investment and improved markets have turned the company round and it has recently re-launched itself as The Scottish Salmon Company.
Scottish salmon production peaked in 2003 at around 170,000 tonnes per year but has since fallen back to around 130,000 tonnes. Trout remain the poor cousins of salmon, with Scottish production (for consumption) at only around 7,000 tonnes per year, yet production levels have still doubled com- pared to 20 years ago. After a slow beginning, shellfish production, led by mussels, finally started to build – growing from around 1,500 tonnes per year in 2000 to almost 6,000 tonnes per year in 2008. In contrast, the great promise shown by marine finfish has not been realised. Cod aquaculture seemed to show great potential in the middle of the decade, but wild stocks proved to be more robust than expected and expensively farmed cod were unable to compete. There is continued hope for halibut, although slow growth and the high cost of juveniles mean progress is slow. The post-Millennium period has been a time when Scottish aquaculture has had to learn the importance of being a good neighbour. The industry came under serious environmental scrutiny, which resulted in the imposition of a very strict regula- tory framework, making plans for expansion almost impossible. Scottish aquaculture risked becoming a backwater compared to the surging salmon industries of Chile and Norway. Despite these concerns, one very positive impact of the en- hanced scrutiny was the introduction of better management systems – in particular to guard against sea lice, ISA, discharges and fish escapes. The introduction of area management, single year class stocking, extended fallow periods and rigorous reporting means that Scottish aquaculture is now regarded by many as the ‘best practice’ model that others need to follow. This message was reinforced by the collapse of the Chilean salmon farming industry following sea lice and ISA problems in the last years of the decade – all because they did not follow similar management protocols.
Poised for growth
Scottish aquaculture is now being lauded as a success story, particularly by the Scottish Government. Many in the industry are more circumspect, saying it has taken a generation of hard work – in which failures and successes have been interwoven – to get to the point where it is today. But most would agree that the future looks more positive now than it has for at least a decade.
Although salmon tonnages are still down from 2003 lev- els, values continue to grow. In 2008, the available statistics indicate the total value of Scottish aquaculture to have been around £500 million (up from £350 million in 2002-3). How- ever, with current salmon prices at an all-time high following the Chilean collapse, the current ‘farm-gate’ value is probably more like £700 million. The Chilean industry will take many years to recover and the global market is still expanding, so Scottish salmon producers should be able to look forward to high prices for some years to come.
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INTRODUCTION
Loch Ryan oysters (above), early Loch Ailort cages, helicopter transfers and fresh Scottish salmon (opposite)
There are serious moves afoot to relocate salmon farms to larger, offshore sites, which would break the planning log-jam of the last decade (only one salmon farm has been licensed in Scotland in the last 5 years!) New farms in the right locations should result in gradually increasing production volumes, while posing fewer environmental risks. Indeed, Scotland’s manage- ment systems and response to critical disease episodes – such as the 2009 outbreak of ISA in Shetland – appear to be working and are in marked contrast with Norway, where area manage- ment is still not widespread, sea lice problems are on the rise and ISA is contained rather than eradicated. However, producers cannot afford to be complacent and must continue to respond to new challenges. For example, criticism over fish in: fish out ratios has resulted in new feeds with less fish meal and oil, and wild fish interests now work together with fish farming companies on area management plans covering complete watersheds.
Demand for high quality seafood has survived the global economic downturn and Scotland is well placed to benefit as an integral part of one of the world’s largest seafood markets, the EU. Farmed seafood fits perfectly with the main trends in seafood supply and retailing; sustainability, traceability and predictability in supply.
So, overall, the future does look bright – hopefully the 2010s will be the decade where Scottish aquaculture fulfils its true potential.
Scotland’s management systems and responses to disease seem to be working
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