Aquaculture

Aquaculture – the farming of fish, shellfish and other aquatic organisms – has created vital employment and economic activity in many of the Highlands and Islands’ most fragile communities. Indeed, we have described aquaculture as the most significant new industry to emerge in the Highlands and Islands over the last 30 years. Hosting a new, rapidly developing industry such as salmon farming has, not surprisingly, produced its own particular set of challenges which HIE and others must address if we are to secure the full economic benefit which this industry can offer.

Being home to the entire output of Scottish farmed salmon, the Highlands and Islands is supporting over 6,500 jobs for Scotland – 4,500 of which are in the HIE area. As with fishing, we particularly value fish farm employment because it provides small numbers of jobs in large numbers of small communities. These communities are in the most peripheral and disadvantaged parts of the Highlands and Islands. The growth in volumes of farmed salmon has also brought employment to the larger towns of the HIE area with the establishment of major packing and processing units. A number of whitefish processors have been able to develop salmon processing as an adjunct to their existing businesses which have suffered declining whitefish supplies.

While salmon will remain the dominant species for the foreseeable future, HIE and other interested parties have promoted and provided financial support to diversification of the industry into shellfish and marine fin fish such as halibut, cod and haddock. Recent declines in whitefish landings have stimulated investments in cod and haddock farming development projects.
 
Current figures put the annual Highlands and Islands salmon production at over 130,000 tonnes, which provides a combined turnover for salmon farmers and processors well in excess of £500 million. The industry exports most of its output, the main markets being France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

HIE works with the full range of producing and processing businesses in the aquaculture industry as well as the industry’s service sector. This includes strategic investments such as feed mills (Invergordon) and research and development organisations (North Atlantic Fisheries College, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, and the Sea Fish Industry Authority Marine Farming Unit, Ardtoe). We continue to work closely with the aquaculture industry and the Scottish Executive, particularly as the industry enters a period of major review by both the Executive and the Scottish Parliament.

Iain Sutherland i.sutherland@hient.co.uk can advise further.