FOI reference: FOI-2025-2585

You asked

I request the following information regarding the economic contribution of the UK salmon farming industry:

  1. For the period 2019-2023, please provide:
    • The official Gross Value Added (GVA) figures for the salmon farming sector
    • Employment statistics for the sector, including direct and indirect employment
    • The methodology used to calculate these figures
    • Any regional breakdowns available, particularly for Scotland
  2. Please provide details of:
    • How the salmon farming industry is classified within national accounts
    • What economic activities are included/excluded from these calculations
    • The multipliers used to calculate indirect economic effects
    • Any changes in calculation methods during this period
  3. Please share:
    • Any specific analyses or reports produced about the economic contribution of aquaculture
    • The data sources used for these calculations
    • Any quality assessments of the data
    • Any limitations or caveats in the methodology
  4. Please provide:
    • Any comparisons with other sectors of similar size
    • Any analysis of the sector's contribution to regional economies
    • Any assessments of the reliability of the data
    • Any supplementary data collections specific to this sector

We said

Thank you for your request.

Economic activity on the salmon farming industry in the UK and regions, is classified in UK Standard Industry Classification (SIC 2007) industry "03 Fishing and aquaculture".  

Unfortunately, ONS do not compile economic statistics below this industry level as we do not collect this information. Therefore this is information not held. UK and regional economic statistics are compiled using the international guidance in the UN System of National Accounts 2008

The following datasets include statistics of the activity of industry 03 Fishing and aquaculture: 

Data for aquaculture activity in Scotland are also available in Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics produced by Scottish Government.