Scottish salmon exports worth Â£500m to economy

Sonja Brown with salmon from Loch Duart, which is enjoyed at home and abroad.

Surrounded by dramatic scenery, rolling hills and sparkling Highland waters, Scotland’s salmon producers have a strong claim to the best view from the “office window”.

It is the hard work of the 8,000 to 10,000 men and women directly and indirectly employed in the industry that has resulted in the silvery swimmers becoming Scotland’s number one food export worth £500 million to the country’s economy – and it has now regained its position as the UK’s top export as well.

This fabulous fish racks up its fair share of air and sea miles each year as it is packed into ice-filled crates and shipped to countries around the world where it is expertly prepared and served in some of the top restaurants, raw in sushi and sashimi dishes, smoked as a starter or baked with lemon and watercress inside a crisp pastry parcel.

Scottish salmon is exported to more than 60 countries worldwide, but some nations have developed more of a taste for the premium product than others.

“The main export markets are the US and the EU,” explains Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), which represents the industry on political, regulatory, media and technical issues in Scotland and overseas.

“France, in particular, dominates the European exports market with two-thirds of the volume. After that there is China which is a growing market.”

The French hold Scottish salmon in such high regard that it became the first non-French food to be awarded the prestigious Label Rouge – a recognised mark of quality and distinction –  25 years ago. Earning the accolade opened up the export market for the industry in Scotland.

“The French are the biggest supporters of Scottish salmon,” says Landsburgh. “We were the trailblazer [with the Label Rouge] and we have done nicely out of it.

“It was entirely about quality. They call it ‘sensory perception’ in France. You have to ensure that you have good flesh texture, good-looking flesh, and it has to taste good as well. It’s all those sensory elements.”

The silver anniversary was marked in March with a dinner at Edinburgh Castle to which a contingent of 30 French guests – including the master chefs of France – was invited. SSPO is also running promotions throughout the year to champion the fish in the French marketplace.

In addition, Scottish salmon has held European PGI (protected geographical status) since 2004, placing it on a par with other prime products such as Arbroath smokies, Stornoway black pudding and, of course, Scotch whisky, the exports of which topped £1 billion earlier this year.

But such is the popularity of Scottish salmon that it is struggling to keep up with demand.

“Demand is worldwide,” says Landsburgh. “There are macroeconomic reasons [why demand for Scottish salmon is increasing]: the population is growing – there will be 9bn people by 2050 – it’s an ageing population and it’s a more affluent population.

“That means demand for healthy food is becoming exponential and we are part of that because of the Omega 3 content in fresh salmon.

“We are in a very fortunate position in that our production supply struggles to meet outward demand on a continuous basis. It’s a good place to be but it also means we have a missed opportunity.

“We want the industry to grow but in a sustainable way.”

On top of the global demand for Scotland’s fresh salmon, there is the UK market to consider and our appetite for fish certainly should not be underestimated. While salmon’s exporting performance is undoubtedly positive, it is consumption on home soil that underpins the economic sustainability of the industry.

“The UK market is paramount because it is our most important market by a long way – 60 per cent of our production stays in the UK,” says Landsburgh.

“Over a million salmon meals are consumed in the UK every day.”

The continued demand both internationally and closer to home is having an encouraging effect in terms of job creation. Career opportunities in the Highlands and Islands are enabling young people to live and work in small, rural communities, which they might otherwise have had to leave behind in search of employment.

The story is the same across the key areas for salmon farming in Scotland: Orkney – which accounts for about  30 per cent of Scotland’s total production – Shetland, the Western Isles, the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.

“It is a fantastic natural coastline for salmon growing and we do very well in all of those locations,” says Landsburgh.

“Scotland is a good place to grow salmon because the temperature in the water is right and the currents are good, and therefore the fish are high quality.”

Landsburgh continues: “Businesses are developing. We have had a lull in the growth of production in the last couple of years but we believe now that we are beginning to come through some of those challenges we have had with fish health and with the environment and we are seeing an uptick now in production.”

The industry has adapted as required to challenges such as sea lice – numbers of which have increased due to climate change pushing up temperatures – and algae.

Landsburgh’s optimism is backed up by HMRC’s export figures for the first quarter of 2017 which were released in May. “We are heading for a record year on exports which is on course to be even better than 2014, the first year in which Scottish salmon was not just Scotland’s but also the UK’s largest food export,” says Landsburgh.

Salmon aquaculture makes a strong contribution to Scotland’s rural economy.

Salaries have increased significantly in recent years as a result of profitability and, directly, the industry employs just over 2,000 people, a figure which rises considerably to somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 when you take into account indirect employment, for example in fish processing.

Job creation is not the only way in which Scotland’s salmon producers support the communities in which they operate. “We use a lot of local suppliers to help with the maintenance and supply of equipment, netting and also local transport companies,” says Landsburgh.

“It’s quite a major logistical exercise getting fresh salmon to market in London or New York within 36 hours. The transport connection has to be pretty good to cover that.”

Then there are the many and varied ways in which salmon producers are getting actively involved with their communities through sponsorship of sports teams, support for local businesses and the provision of Modern Apprenticeships to train up the next generation of workers. In 2015, 88 employees completed a Modern Apprenticeship with a salmon farmer, while a further 74 existing employees signed up for the programme. Scottish Sea Farms funded a new kit for Lorn Ladies Shinty Club in Oban. North Lanarkshire-based Cooke Aquaculture Scotland supports Cairndow Community Childcare which enables families – including some of Cooke’s employees – to balance living and working on the shores of Loch Fyne.

In April, the Scottish Salmon Company renewed its commitment to promoting sport in the Western Isles by signing up again as the main sponsor of the Western Isles Island Games Association.

Recently, some redundant fish farm pens from Marine Harvest became breeding rafts for rare scoter ducks in the northern Highlands.

“Corporate social responsibility is important to the industry and the companies,” says Landsburgh. “They have a policy of putting their local community first.

“It is very important to us that the communities feel that we are demonstrating our support for them, but also our gratitude to them for allowing us to use their local environment.”

Community engagement

Responsibility towards the environment is essential for the sustainability of aquaculture operations. So too is responsibility towards the community in which a salmon producer operates.

For Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, one of the largest producers of Scottish salmon, the families of its employees and others living in the community are key to the company’s success.

As such, Cooke supports a range of sports and educational projects through sponsorship of community events and projects including Cairndow Community Childcare on the shores of Loch Fyne.

The facility is essential for families, including some of Cooke’s employees, to be able to live and work in this part of Argyll, where the producer has hatcheries for young salmon.

Meanwhile, all of Cooke’s farms are in Orkney and Shetland, with a high concentration in Unst.

The organisation has supported community events there by making donations towards fairs and presenting Easter eggs to primary school children.

“Cooke is a large employer there so it is important to us to be part of the community,” explains Marie McAleese, business development manager at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland.

“We want to support people in their work and in their day-to-day life in sports or education projects.

“In Shetland we bought the children at Baltasound Primary School some waterproofs to go out in – they go on a one-mile walk every day. That’s something that has been provided by Cooke.”

This article appears in the SUMMER 2017 edition of Vision Scotland. An online version is available here. Further information about Vision Scotland here.