September 10, 2007

Scotland wants to boost aquaculture production to 200,000 tonnes

More large-scale salmon farms could be created in Scotland to help the industry boost its output over the next decade, the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO) said.

Scotland should increase annual production from an estimated 137,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes by 2017 to improve competitiveness, the SSPO said. This would mean around 100 million smolts (young fish) being put to sea over a two-year period.

Sid Patten, the SSPO's chief executive gave the figures while responding to a European Commission consultation on sustainable aquaculture development.

Scotland has a great opportunity to boost production of farmed salmon, he said. It is the world's third-biggest salmon producer, but its target output would be just a third of that produced by major producers like Norway and Chile.

Patten said aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in global food production but the EU's market share is declining, thus the region is missing out on an enormous opportunity.