The UK is one of the largest EU producer, with Scotland contributing largely to this. In 2012, the UK produced 210,000 tonnes, with an estimated value of €796 million (circa £705 million). A country overview and respective performance indicators can be found in here. According to this report, the sector employed over 3000 people, with a total of 640 companies. The vast majority of these are small enterprises, with 89% with less than 5 employees. In fact, only 26 companies employed more than 20 staff, though these represent most of the value of the sector.
The industry is represented by a range of influential trade bodies and organisations, such as the Scottish Salmon Producers Association, Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers, Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, Shetland Aquaculture, British Trout Association, British Aquaponics Association, Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association, Shellfish Association of Great Britain, Welsh Aquaculture Producers’ Association, Welsh Aquaculture Advisory Group, British Marine Finfish Association, amongst others.
The interests of the sector are further represented by various advising bodies and interest groups, such as Seafish and SAIC (and updated and exhaustive list can be found in here). Seafish provides market and regulation information, supports organisations and groups who work with the sector, running the Seafish Domestic Aquaculture Advisory Committee and the Aquaculture Common Issues Group (which meets twice a year, in April and September, to discuss industry relevant issues – attendance is free and open to interested stakeholders). Seafish’s website provides a range of useful resources, from the Guide to Aquaculture, to the latest reports and “Who is Who in aquaculture?”. Seafish’s aquaculture team includes Lee Cocker and Karen Green, who can advise on enquiries such as domestic aquaculture strategy, fact sheets and industry guidance notes, and finfish aquaculture in Scotland and shellfish cultivation. Scotland-wise, it is worth mentioning the role of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (or SAIC) brings together the collective expertise and resources of a range of industry, academic and other partners and its extensive aquaculture supply chain SAIC is primarily focused on industry-led competitive R&D biosciences projects, that tackle urgent industry issues, promotes sustainability, and mitigates risks for producers, and are within their four priority areas. These are (i) address environmental and health challenges, particularly sea lice and gill disease; (ii) develop feeds that optimise fish health and nutrition, (iii) unlock additional capacity for aquaculture development through innovative, evidence-based approaches, and (iv) establish a reliable supply of mollusc spat. Meet SAIC’s team in here.
The industry is diverse producing a variety of finfish and shellfish species, for consumption, ornamental trade and restocking fisheries. Salmon production dominates UK aquaculture, representing over 80% of the production both in volume and value, with most production concentrated in Scotland. Salmon is an anadromous fish (born in freshwater, spends most of its life at ssea and return to freshwater to spawn) and during the freshwater stages is produced in hatcheries and nurseries, with seawater net‐pen production used from ongrowing to harvest. There were 62 registered enterprises in 2012, with most production concentrated in Scotland in over 350 sites. Salmon is also popular among UK consumes, being the most popular fresh fish in the UK. Though salmon has been domesticated for many years, production systems are well developed and there is a high market price, the industry faces many challenges, such as how to tackle disease outbreaks (e.g. sealice), manage escapees and site availability.
This segment is followed by mussel production, done on the sea-bed or suspended systems. These include rafts, long lines, on bottom, and off‐bottom on tressels. Production is evenly distributed across countries, with 124 registered enterprises in 2012. However, mussels command at a much lower unit price relative to other shellfish, like oysters and finfish.
Trout production is the third sector is UK aquaculture, dominated by the production of Rainbow trout, done mostly in England. There were 193 registered enterprises in 2012.This is produced both for restocking and consumption. Trout production is not nearly as developed as salmon production and the industry and there are several difficulties in health and welfare managmenet, where research is still lacking.
Further to these 3 main segments, about 30% of the companies was engaged in the production of carp (84 companies), oyster (103 companies) and other fresh-water fish (50 companies), with a minority producing sea-bass and sea-bream, other marine fish and clams.
With a per capita consumption of 19 kg of seafood per person per year (2011), the UK has bought 222,086 tonnes of seafood in 2015 (£3.12bn). Salmon remains the best seller, followed by cod, tuna, prawns and haddock, with these species accounting for nearly 70% of all sales value. These species also constitute the top imports, from Iceland, China, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Vietnam and Thailand. Though cod and haddock are amongst the top species landed into the UK by UK vessels, cod is still vastly imported, like the vast majority of tuna which comes from fisheries. Contrarily, the majority of salmon and prawns are from aquaculture, with both Scottish and imported salmon, but with most prawns coming from Asia. More information on major farmed species can be found on SEAFISH’s Aquaculture Responsible Sourcing Guides. The top UK seafood exports are salmon, prawns/langoustines, scallops and mackerel, with France, USA, Spain and Ireland being the top export countries. A full overview on UK seafood imports and export, from SEAFISH, can be found in here.
Aquaculture production in the UK is regulated and a number of production standards operate, such as the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture, Label Rouge, RSPCA Freedom Food and Quality Trout UK. Further relevant standards and certification include IFFO, Global Gap, ASC, The Global Aquaculture Alliance, Friend of the Sea and Soil Association.
However, there is still a lot of misinformation amongst consumers, with 3 out of 4 adults unaware that they should eat two portions of fish per week and with the amount of fish consumed dropping steadily since 2006 from about 170g to 145g per person per week. In total, 3 out of 4 people know that an omega-3 rich diet is associated with extensive health benefits, with 47% of fish meals being consumed for health reasons. Fish appears to appeal more to older consumers, who consume more often fish and with 8 out of 10 adults over 55 being able to identify an oil-rich fish. Consumers are spending increasingly more money eating seafood out of home, with 2 out of 3 of these seafood meals being fried fish and seafood sandwiches, as good value, portable, convenient, healthy meal options are experiencing strong growth. With about 10,500 takeaway fish and chip shops in the UK, is not surprising that cod represents nearly 30 % of all fish servings. However, although the price of an individual seafood dish has remained steady, a seafood meal is still relatively expensive (£6.25) compared with cheaper options such as poultry and pork. Detailed information on SEAFISH’s Seafood in Commercial Foodservice can be found in here.
In the UK approximately 70% of the seafood value which enters the supply chain is imported from abroad or landed by foreign ships (to a total of 689,964 tonnes worth £2.69bn). This gap in imports to exports, associated with the good conditions for seafood production in the UK, has raised the interests in sustainable aquaculture.