Aquaculture in the United Kingdom

Aquaculture in the United Kingdom

Cairidh Salmon Farm jetty in Scotland
Harvest Aquaculture in the United Kingdom (2017)
Aquaculture inland	32,000 tonnes (35,000 tons)[note 1]
Aquaculture marine	190,000 tonnes (210,000 tons)
Aquaculture total	222,434 tonnes (245,192 tons)

Aquaculture in the United Kingdom is dominated by salmon farming (mostly in Scotland), then by mussel production with trout being the third most important enterprise.^[1] Aquaculture in the United Kingdom^{[note 2]} represents a significant business for the UK, producing over 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of fish whilst earning over £700 million in 2012 (€793 million).^{[note 3]}

UK aquaculture applies to three main strands of species; finfish (salmon, trout, carp etc.), shellfish (mussels, oysters, lobster etc.) and marine algae (seaweed). These are rated in the tonnage that is produced annually. Aquaponics involves the symbiotic relationship of fish farming with growing plants in water (a process whereby the plants clean the dirty water from the fish tank).^[2] As such, aquaponics is not included in this article. A fourth strand is ornamental (coldwater fish, tropical fish and aquatic plants), but this is in very small volumes by weight.

Scottish finfish aquaculture is rated third in the world behind Norway and Chile in terms of tonnage of production, and is the United Kingdom's most valuable food export. Aquaculture is also increasingly being used to help conserve rare species where breeding grounds have been destroyed or other environmental factors have affected reproductive patterns.

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