Salmon Sector Celebrates 40 Years of Production

As the salmon sector celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first commercial farms in Scotland, the industry’s representative body has expressed a desire to grow by 4% per annum over the next 10 years.

The strategic plan to achieve an annual production of 210,000 tonnes by 2020 is highlighted in the newly-published annual report from the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO).

Professor Phil Thomas, chairman of SSPO, said: "This is a year of celebration for the Scottish salmon industry; it is also a year of planning for the future.

"The first commercial harvest of Scottish salmon was 14 tonnes back in 1971. Now, farmers grow 144,000 tonnes and it has become Scotland’s single largest food export.

"The next phase of development includes a sustainable growth in production over the next 10 years. It is planned to develop the industry at an average rate of 4% per year to achieve an annual production of 210,000 tonnes by 2020."

Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the SSPO, said: "Forty years ago some people hailed the salmon industry as the ‘replacement for the oil bonanza’, while others questioned the credibility of the technology involved.

"We may not have matched the oil industry’s revenue – although two of our companies now feature strongly on Scotland’s top 120 companies list – but we have stood the test of time.

"We would now like to grow steadily and responsibly over the next 10 years to effectively increase production by half to keep pace with growing global demand," he added.

Landsburgh highlighted an increasing participation (65% and rising) in Freedom Food, the leading animal welfare scheme from the RSPCA, and an all-time low in the number of fish lost to escape incidents.

He also highighted novel research into the use of wrasse to mitigate the effects of sea lice and the launch of a revised Code of Good Practice during 2010.

Landsburgh said: "The industry is confident and prepared to meet the challenges ahead. It is committed to adopting the best in advanced science and technology to maintain its position as a leading Scottish food sector.

"This confidence, when set against a background of challenging market circumstances for the Scottish and UK economy as a whole, augurs well for the long-term viability of the remote rural economies of the west Highlands and Islands and the Northern Isles of Scotland."

Background

1. The first commercial Scottish farmed salmon were harvested in Loch Ailort, near Fort William in 1971.
2. Market conditions are favourable for growth. Experts forecast there was a global undersupply of 190,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon in 2010 – which is one and a half times the size of the total Scottish production – and demand for the health enhancing product continues to grow.
3. 90% of salmon companies feel ‘very confident’ or ‘confident’ about future demand for health-enhancing salmon; 70% of companies expressed a desire to grow sustainably over the next five years; 78% of companies plan to increase staff over the next five years (Source: Salmon Business Confidence Survey, SSPO, December 2010).
4. Fresh Scottish salmon exports reached record levels in 2010. Exports increased by 20%, rising to 78,611 tonnes from 65,480 tonnes the previous year. This is the second consecutive year that exports have risen as global demand for the healthy and sustainable protein continues to grow.
5. Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation represents 95% of salmon production.

Looking to source farmed salmon in Scotland? Use Scotland Food & Drink's Buyers' Guide.

More aquaculture news.