Worth almost 600 million euros, and with 70 percent of businesses involved saying that they want to grow “sustainably” over the next five years, Scotland’s salmon farming industry is seeing no recession about.
Announcing that the sector had created 234 new jobs in 2010, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) said that was good news for remote, rural communities that depend on a successful, sustainable and profitable salmon industry.
“The sector is enjoying an upward trend. The contribution to the economy is increasing in many ways. For example, over the last three years there has been a 55 percent leap in the direct value to communities through the rising contribution of salaries”, said SSPO chief executive Scott Landsburgh.
His optimism was echoed by Dr Lesley Sawers, chief executive in the Scottish Council for Development and Industry:
“The last year has continued to be very challenging for many sectors, but analysis of this industry research shows that Scottish salmon farmers have weathered the downturn better than most and, with their investment and strong demand in the UK and overseas, are leaders on the way back to growth.”
The industry has also sponsored a Salmon Business Confidence Survey (SBCS), a study of how big and small salmon farming firms in Scotland see the present and the future of their businesses.
The key findings were:
- 90 percent of SSPO member companies feel ‘very confident’ or ‘confident’ about future demand for health-enhancing salmon. The remaining 10 percent felt ‘content’;
- 70 percent of SSPO member companies expressed a desire to grow sustainably over the next five years. 30 percent felt content with the current level of production, and;
- 78 percent of SSPO member companies plan to increase staff over the next five years.
With a predicted global undersupply of 190,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon in 2010, the industry sees continued strong demand for the fish. According to the industry, salmon exports have increased by more than 500 percent in the past 20 years and one million fresh salmon meals are eaten in the UK every day.