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Scottish Salmon: The UK's Most Valuable Food Export

✍️ Fish Index Editorial 📅 2025-03-14 aquaculture

Scottish farmed salmon has become the UK's single most valuable food export, generating over £600 million annually. We look at the industry's growth, challenges, and future prospects.

<h2>Scotland's Salmon Success Story</h2> <p>Scottish farmed salmon has grown from a small-scale industry in the 1970s to become the UK's single most valuable food export, generating over £600 million annually. The industry employs around 12,000 people, many in remote Highland and Island communities where alternative employment opportunities are limited.</p> <h2>Key Producers</h2> <p>The Scottish salmon farming industry is dominated by a handful of major producers, including Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest), Scottish Sea Farms, Grieg Seafood, and Loch Duart. These companies operate hundreds of sea cages across the sea lochs of the Western Highlands and Islands, as well as in Orkney and Shetland.</p> <h2>Sustainability Challenges</h2> <p>Despite its commercial success, Scottish salmon farmin

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