Aquaculture: Shellfish
Key Findings
The majority of aquaculture in Scotland is focused on finfish production, with this almost entirely focused on Atlantic salmon farming. However, shellfish aquaculture also contributes to seafood production in Scotland. The majority of farmed shellfish is mussels (Mytilus spp.), with Scotland producing 10,311 tonnes in 2023 (Scottish Government, 2024). Other farmed shellfish species include pacific oyster (Magallana gigas), native oyster (Ostrea edulis), and king scallop (Pecten maximus) (Scottish Government, 2020).
Shellfish farming typically takes place in sea lochs and voes where there is pristine clean water to grow healthy shellfish (Natural Scotland, n.d.. The species of shellfish which are farmed in Scotland are all bivalves meaning they are filter feeders - mussels can filter around 2-3 litres of sea water every hour (Scottish Goverment, 2020).
Shellfish farms are located around the West and North of Scotland's coasts as well as around the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland (fig. 1) (Scottish Government, 2020; Natural Scotland, n.d.). There are no active shellfish farms along the East Grampian Coast.
Fig. 1: (Scottish Government, 2020) Active aquaculture shellfish sites November 2019. (showing Scottish Marine Regions). Note: Land based seawater tank facilities, used for research and development purposes, have been omitted.
Notes
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