Monster of the deep that now nets £250k an hour

SCOTLAND'S fishing heritage has long been tied to the romantic image of small boats heading out to brave the open sea and harvest its bounty. It is also viewed as an industry in decline and at odds with the ecology of the sea. But in recent years, a new kind of fishing industry has been gradually spreading across the sea lochs around Scotland's coasts.

Figures released yesterday by the newly created Aquaculture Information Bureau (AIB) showed fish farming was worth more than £400 million in 2006. This placed it ahead of fishing - which was worth £370 million - for the first time. Assuming a typical year of 224 working days, and a working day of seven hours, fish farming is netting £255,000 an hour, or £71 every second, for the Scottish economy.

The fish farming business has taken off at an astonishing rate. The first sites started in the 1970s and by 1980 only 9 per cent of the fish consumed came from aquaculture; now it is 43 per cent.

Aquaculture "products", as the industry refers to its shellfish and fish, also represent 50 per cent by value of all Scottish food exports.

In the past year, Scotland exported more than 12 million salmon to 60 countries and it is now the third-largest salmon producer in the world.

According to Ken Hughes, of the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation, the success of the industry comes down to Scotland's geographic position.

"The water quality of the country is extremely high," he said. "Also, geographically, you have good, strong sea lochs, which enjoy a bit of protection - the technology for the wild seas isn't there yet - to allow aquaculture cultivation.

"There's been a massive upturn in the consumption of fish. There are two figures in terms of salmon consumption: for smoked salmon, it has increased approximately 37 per cent, while fresh salmon has risen by up to 15 per cent."

The average Scot, though, still eats only a third of a portion of fish a week, well below the recommended two portions, and Mr Hughes acknowledges that "there's a long way to go". However, the fish-farming industry is now making a vital contribution to the 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 aquaculture industry is at the heart of many communities," Mr Hughes said.

"The people who work in the industry are involved in school boards, volunteer firemen, all aspects of local life."

But while holding such a key place in the Scottish economy, it has not been plain sailing for aquaculture.

Despite strict legislation controlling the industry and a stated need by the European Union to expand the amount of aquaculture production, increasing imports of seafood are placing mounting pressures on the sector, triggering demands for a level "playing field" from producers.

Furthermore, during the past decade, the industry has had to contend with scares over the level of contaminants in farmed salmon - accusations that have been rejected vociferously by the salmon industry - and the issue of parasitic sea lice.

Conservationists have also voiced concern about the impact that the aquaculture industry has had on the environment.

Indeed, one of the biggest issues preventing further expansion is the difficulty of finding sites due to opposition from local communities, normally on the grounds that any new farms will affect the "visual amenity" of the area.

Dawn Purchase, of the Marine Conservation Society, outlined its main concerns: "There is the siting of farms to ensure that there is minimal environmental impact.

"There is also food sustainability. The rise in production has brought increased reliance on wild-capture fisheries, who produce salmon feed by processing certain species of fish, and we want to ensure the long-term sustainability of this source."

She also said that the "genetic dilution" of wild stocks of salmon by farmed salmon which have escaped the cages was a serious concern. "These fish can reduce wild salmon genetic fitness, take their food and displace their eggs," Ms Purchase said. "However, it's fair to say that the industry has improved in recent years and we applaud the moves that have been made. But there's still a way to go."

Her sentiments were echoed by Brian Davidson, the director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, which protects wild stocks of the fish. "Escapes are the main issue for us. There's been a lot of publicity about this, because they can have quite a devastating impact on wild stocks," he said.

"It's something that we are beginning to lose our patience on, but they are trying to beef up their cage infrastructure."

He also said that the issue of sea lice - a potentially lethal infestation that affects farmed salmon and can be passed on to wild stocks by escapees - was being tackled by greater co-operation between those concerned with salmon, both wild and farmed, under agreements brokered by the Scottish Government. But industry efforts aside, Mr Hughes acknowledged that there remains an issue about how the aquaculture industry is perceived by the public, in contrast to the generally positive view of this country's fishing fleet.

"Certainly, efforts have been made to address the concerns about environment and the issues of lice and escapes," he said. "The AIB is here to try and present its story. In the past, the industry has not got its message across and it has got to change perceptions about it, not just to the general public, but to local authorities - who we have to convince about our industry's needs - right up to parliamentarians, who have a say in how it can be changed."

However, with globalisation knocking down trade barriers everywhere, and with EU estimates that per-capita consumption of seafood will grow by 50 per cent by 2030, it seems likely that, whether reluctantly or not, Scotland will embrace one of its newest industries.

• FOR Roger Thwaites, an oyster farmer in Argyll and owner of Shian Fisheries, the aquaculture industry has provided his livelihood for 34 years, having worked in salmon and mussel cultivation before moving into oyster farming in 1996.

"Essentially, the farm is me and my wife, Judy. We've been running it since 1996. We bring the oyster trestles up at low tide, which are submerged the majority of time, decide which ones we want and take them back to the processing centre for grading.

"It can take up to three years for an oyster farm to reach production, depending on the size of the seed. It costs roughly 2p per oyster in their smallest size, and you need to buy 400,000 to 500,000 for what is a small farm, compared with France or Spain where they have farms of 20 million.

"That 500,000 seed will produce 30 tonnes, which sells for about £2,400 a ton, or 20p a shell. We make about £80,000 annually.

"The majority of our production goes to Waitrose supermarkets, though some is bought by Tesco too. The spec that they set down is pretty tight; they want them to be a certain size, have a specific meat content and be specific shape. They also want the quality and health to be of a certain level too, which is only right, and we get tested endlessly.

"It's difficult to expand because it's hard to find new sites. Also there are competing interests for use of the water from leisure, fishing and the local population, which makes it difficult for us too. There is huge potential for this industry in Scotland but there aren't enough young people coming into the industry at the moment. I have two sons, who certainly don't want to be oyster farmers. I keep doing it because I love it."