Aquaculture Farm System

Aquaculture policy in the United Kingdom is a devolved topic, with Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland each having their own administrations in charge of it. As a result of this governance model, portions of the UK approach reflected in the Multiannual National Plan will differ to reflect variances in priorities and policy approaches.

In terms of size of production and species cultivated, aquaculture in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales differs greatly from that in Scotland. Scotland is unquestionably the leading producer of farmed Atlantic salmon (over 95 percent), which accounts for the majority of UK finfish production. Scotland’s industry, while predominantly marine-based, also includes a significant freshwater output sector. Shellfish and trout production are more important in the English, Northern Irish, and Welsh sectors as a whole. Figures 1-3 depict the locations of aquaculture sites around the United Kingdom. Figures 5 and 6 show the disparities in scale (industry size and value) between the aquaculture sectors in the UK’s separate administrations, as well as between shellfish and finfish.