Business nets £197m from salmon farming 

Highlands and Islands the most significant beneficiary

Salmon farming injects in excess of £197 million into businesses in Scotland every year, a new survey of producers has claimed.

The findings reveal that businesses in the Highlands and Islands are the most significant beneficiaries, netting some £149 million per annum. Other Scottish regions benefit from a further £48 million boost, the rest of the UK gains £50 million and overseas £5 million. The total annual expenditure on suppliers of goods and services tops £253 million.

The Highlands and Islands also benefit the most by the volume of businesses that supply the industry, with some 77% of suppliers based in the region. 11.5% are located elsewhere in Scotland, 11% in the rest of the UK and 0.5% overseas.

Speaking to business leaders, local authority representatives and MSPs in Inverness today, Sid Patten, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO), will reveal the extent of the ‘indirect benefits’ from the sector, which are created as a result of the demand for goods and services by the salmon farming industry on supplier industries.

“The indirect benefits of salmon farming are extensive,” said Patten. “Businesses in the Highlands and Islands such as ice suppliers, net makers, fish vets and hauliers net nearly £3 million every week from the industry. And as the majority of suppliers to the sector are also located in the Highlands and Islands, this increases the importance of the industry to the region,” he added.

Joe Moore, Highlands & Islands Area Chairperson of Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), said: “It is clear from the findings that the salmon farming industry has great significance for many parts of the Scottish economy over and above the direct employment in hatcheries, smolt production and farms.

“All the economic effects, direct and indirect, give rise to further benefits as a result of the spending of profits and wages generated by the salmon supply chain. The overall benefits to the Highlands and Islands, Scotland and further afield are therefore even greater,” he added.

The findings also highlight Scottish companies that have started and prospered as a result of business with the sector. “Salmon farming is an incubator for a supporting infrastructure, as there are many growing, sustainable Scottish businesses which have been established solely to supply the sector. Their increases in staffing levels and investments of millions of pounds in necessary infrastructure are directly attributable to salmon farming,” said Patten.

“One of the main challenges is to ensure that salmon farming continues to play a pivotal role in remote, rural economies by gaining support for the future sustainable growth of the industry from the relevant authorities,” Patten added.

Notes to editors:

1. The survey was conducted by the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation. It was completed in February 2007. Financial data was obtained across two calendar years, 1995 and 1996. The response rate was excellent: 92% of the tonnage of farmed salmon and 77% of smolt production in Scotland completed the survey.
   
2. The new figures are to be announced at a Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) business event on Friday 2nd March 2007, 12.30pm – 2.00pm, at the Marriott Hotel, Culcabock Road, Inverness.
   
3. Case studies of companies that have started and prospered as a result of business with the salmon industry are available.
   

ENDS

For further information contact either:

Ken Hughes, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, 01738 587006 / 07974 173 739

Julie Edgar, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, 01738 587010 / 0789 987 5151

SSPO main office 01738 587 000

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