Marine Scotland Science has published the Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2015.
Included in the publication are statistics on the employment, production and value of shellfish from Scottish shellfish farms, following industry trends within the mussel, Pacific oyster, native oyster, queen scallop and scallop species sectors. Some statistics are given for the 10-year period 2006-2015.
The publication found that production tonnage of mussels dropped by 5% from 7,683 tonnes in 2014 to 7,270 tonnes in 2015. This is the second highest level of mussel production recorded in Scotland.
Production of Pacific oyster shells decreased by 21% from the 2014 total. Additionally, over 5 million shells were produced for on-growing in other waters.
Employment levels in Scottish shellfish farms decreased by 0.3% from 2014, with 344 full, part-time and casual staff employed in 2015.
The overall estimated value of the industry was calculated to be approximately £10.1 million in 2015.
The full publication can be found here.
