| Shellfish Farming |
| Shellfish Figures |
|
|
The Scottish shellfish farming industry is well established. There has been a rapid expansion in farmed mussel production from Shetland in recent years. The figures below provide details of site numbers, output and first sale market value for each farmed species.
Distribution
The table below details the number of shellfish sites around Scotland on Crown Estate land, broken down by region and species, as of May 2006.
Number of Distinct Sites
| Oysters | Scallops | Mussels | Clams |
| Argyll & Bute | 39 | 15 | 55 | 0 |
| Highland | 28 | 40 | 86 | 4 |
| Orkney | 10 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Shetland | 13 | 16 | 97 | 0 |
| Western Isles | 7 | 5 | 42 | 0 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 97 | 83 | 286 | 4 |
Shellfish Production in Scotland
- Number of companies in production during 2004: 110
- Number of companies registered as active during 2004: 175
- Number of active sites during 2004: 319
- By 2004 the number of companies producing more than 100 tonnes of mussels had reached eleven, between them growing 60% of the total farmed mussel output in Scotland.
- In 2004 the thirteen companies each producing over 100,000 Pacific oysters produced 95% of the Scottish total.
- Many companies cultivate more than one species on site. For example, scallops are grown together with queens, Pacific oysters with native oysters, and mussels with Pacific oysters.
Production
| 2004 (tonnes) | 2003 (tonnes) |
| Mussels | 4,223 | 3,632 |
| Pacific oysters | 287 | 279 |
| Queens | 45 | 45 |
| Scallops | 10 | 22 |
| Native oysters | 8 | 13 |
| TOTAL | 4,573 | 3,991 |
Value of Table Trade
| 2004 (approx.) | 2003 (approx.) |
| Mussels | £3.4 – 5.5 million | £2.9 – 3.7 million |
| Pacific oysters | £540 – 900,000 | £530 – 870,000 |
| Queens | £60,000 | £60,000 |
| Scallops | £40 – 50,000 | £90 – 100,000 |
| Native oysters | £40,000 | £60,000 |
Note: prices of farmed shellfish fluctuate throughout the year
Source: Fisheries Research Services (FRS – 2005): 'Scottish shellfish farm production survey 2004', FRS, Aberdeen. For a copy of the full report, available on the FRS website, please follow the link.
For further information on our Scottish holdings, please visit our Scotland page.
| |
|
