Aquaculture
Note: information on licensing requirements and Environment Agency responsibilities concerning freshwater fish are available from the efishbusiness website, in the "Forms and Guidance" section.
For new legislation that may affect you, please see the agricultural employment pages.
In England and Wales we currently have 518 registered fish and shellfish farms. Of these, 193 are coarse fish farms, the majority of which are located in Southern England, 197 trout and other fin fish farms and 128 shellfish farms. The number of registered coarse fish farms has increased by 56% since 1997.
The main finfish species farmed is rainbow trout (7,294 tonnes). There is also limited production of other species, such as brown trout (441 tonnes), carp (175 tonnes) Atlantic salmon (63 tonnes), turbot (63.5 tonnes), barramundi (45 tonnes), tilapia (33 tonnes), for a total fish farm production in England and Wales of 8,127 tonnes (2006 figures). Shellfish farm production totalled 15,449 tonnes in 2006, the main species cultivated being mussels (14,553 tonnes) and oysters (880 tonnes).
Scotland is responsible for 80% of the UK aquaculture production. Data on the fish and shellfish aquaculture industry in Scotland are available on the Scottish Government website.
For information on the aquaculture industry in Northern Ireland, go to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI) fisheries web-pages.
Aquaculture and food security
Defra commissioned a strategic review of the potential for aquaculture to contribute to the future security of food and non-food products and services in the UK and specifically England. A final report (1.9 MB) is available.
Value of the Industry
The emphasis and interest of the aquaculture industry is generally on fish for food. However, England and Wales have also a coarse fish production industry which restocks fisheries, generally for angling purposes.
In 2006, the farm gate value of fish farming in England and Wales was estimated to be £23 million, of which £13 million was salmonids, 0.5 million other food fish and £10 million coarse fish for re-stocking of fisheries and ornamental purposes. The value of shellfish farming is estimated to be around £20 million.
Employment figures for 2006 show that number of people employed by registered fish and shellfish farms were 916 and 414 respectively.
A report of a seminar Future strategies for the English farmed trout industry [PDF] (35 KB) held in 2000 is available.
Several and Regulating Orders
Defra consulted on proposals in 2006 to modify the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, the legislation supporting Several and Regulating Orders. The proposed amendments aim to modernise the current legislation and enable grantees of Orders to better deliver current fisheries management priorities.
Several Orders create and protect a private shellfishery. They are granted in order to encourage the establishment or improvement of a shellfishery.
Regulating Orders grant the right to regulate the exploitation of a shellfishery. They are designed to improve the management of natural shellfisheries.
In England, Several and Regulating Orders are granted by the Secretary of State under the terms of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967.
Further information can be found in the following Defra publications, in the Forms and guidance area of this site:
Food hygiene
Responsibility for fish and shellfish hygiene issues falls under the remit of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Contacts
If you require any further information on any of the above matters please contact us at: Defra, Fisheries Division II 'A', Area 5E, Whitehall Place West, 3-8 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HH. Tel: 020 7270 8826; Fax: 020 7270 8827; Email: sh.fishii@defra.gsi.gov.uk.
For further information on licensing requirements and Environment Agency responsibilities concerning freshwater fish, see the efishbusiness website.
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Page last modified: 26 June 2009
Page published: 16 June 2003