Scottish salmon sector reports record survival, low medicine use and £1bn investment.
Scotland’s salmon farmers have told MSPs that the industry has delivered on calls for reform and investment, pointing to record survival rates, reduced medicine use and export growth.
In a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs and islands committee, Salmon Scotland chief executive Tavish Scott highlighted sector-wide progress since a committee report earlier this year, which the industry said had relied on out-of-date data.
According to the update, salmon survival in the first eight months of 2025 reached 92.3 percent, the highest figure since records began in 2018. Antibiotic use fell nearly 80 percent in 2024 to its lowest level since reporting started. Farmers have invested more than £1 billion in fish health and welfare since 2018, with £10 million spent on audits and inspections last year alone.
Exports are on track to exceed £1 billion in 2025 for the first time, with producers preparing to expand into India once a UK-India trade deal is ratified in 2026. The sector employs 2,500 people directly, supports 12,500 jobs overall and contributes £760 million annually to the economy.
Scott pointed to a refreshed Code of Good Practice for Scottish finfish aquaculture, due to be published in October, as evidence of continuous reform. The code, the only one of its kind globally, covers fish health, welfare and biosecurity, with every farm independently audited.
On innovation, the letter highlighted semi-closed containment trials under development by SeaQureFarming and the recent approval of Loch Long Salmon’s semi-closed farm in Argyll. The industry has also commissioned an independent review of research and innovation and is urging the Scottish Government to replace funding for the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre.
“This is testament to the hard work of the sector’s farmers, veterinarians and fish health professionals, as well as the £1 billion invested in fish health and welfare since 2018,” Scott wrote to committee convener Finlay Carson MSP.
