Fish cultivation production volume down in 2021, while the value of production increases

In 2021, fish farmers produced a total of 14.4 million kilograms of food fish for sale. The volume of production was lower compared to the two previous years when the market’s food fish production exceeded 15 million kilograms annually. The production of food fish is largely controlled by the environmental permits issued to fish farms, typically resulting in similar annual production figures if no new permits are issued.

The hot weather of 2021 hurt the production of some fish farms, but the most significant reason for the year’s lower production volume was the IHN fish disease that was introduced to the Åland Islands by fry imported from Denmark. According to the Finnish Food Authority, around 1.6 million kilos of rainbow trout had to be killed or slaughtered because of the disease. Of all cultivated food fish, 94 per cent, a total of 13.6 million kilograms, was rainbow trout. Whitefish production amounted to 0.7 million kilograms. Other trout species and fish accounted for 0.16 million kilograms in total. In recent years, between 0.5 and 0.8 million kilograms of whitefish has been cultivated for food.

The value of the produced food fish was EUR 73.3 million in 2021. Despite the reduced volume, the value of production increased by some ten million euros compared to the previous year due to the higher producer price of rainbow trout. The global market price of salmon significantly impacts the producer price of rainbow trout in Finland.

Sea farms accounted for 80 per cent of food fish production. The volume of fish produced for sale was slightly reduced both at sea and in inland waters compared to the previous year. Closed-system production reached approximately 1.5 million kilograms in the previous year. Closed-system aquaculture reduces the amount of water used in fish farming and, more importantly, its environmental load.

Fry were produced for the restocking of natural waters and further cultivation at fish farms. Some 15 million whitefish fry, six million pikeperch fry, two million salmon fry and two million trout fry were produced for planting. Approximately 2.5 million whitefish fry were also produced for further cultivation. Some 21 million rainbow trout fry were produced for further cultivation. The figures above exclude newly hatched fry.

Aquaculture statistics are published annually based on a survey sent to fish farms at the start of the year. Nearly all fish farms respond to the survey.