Scotland is the largest producer of farmed salmon in the EU. It is the third largest producer in the world, behind Norway and Chile. Scotland is responsible for 80 per cent of UK aquaculture production.
In 2006 Scottish production of salmon stood at 131,847 tonnes. This was followed by rainbow trout (7,492 tonnes), and smaller amounts of other species such as cod (543 tonnes), brown trout/sea trout (267 tonnes), halibut (233 tonnes) and Arctic charr (3.5 tonnes). The shellfish industry produced 4,662 tonnes of which 4287 were mussels.
Aquaculture makes an important contribution to the Scottish rural economy, especially in the western and northern isles, where many communities are sustained by the employment provided - about 1,500 direct jobs with a further 4,700 downstream.
The value of the aquaculture industry in Scotland is estimated to have a farm gate value of £400 million (2006). This is made up of £382 million for farmed salmon, about £10 million for rainbow, brown and sea trout, about £2 million for halibut and cod, and around £6 million for shellfish.
The value of fish exports (including aquaculture) from Scotland in 2005 was £422 million. This accounts for 60 per cent of all food exports (£700 million).