Chile: Salmon industry faces new challenges
New health regulations for the Chilean aquaculture industry are not only generating changes in the production model, but also increasing production costs.
Companies in the salmon industry must comply with the changes stipulated by the Government in an attempt to avoid the spread of the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus in the country's farms, as happened in 2007.
"This is a business that should be sustainable, and to compare the cost of producing trout smolts in an estuary versus on land fish farming is US$0.96 to US$1.31 respectively, it is clear that production of fish will be 35 per cent more expensive," a source from the company Trusal told Estrategia.
The businessman pointed out that one of the proposals of the Health Regulations for Aquaculture (RESA) is that estuaries should not produce smolts of trout and Atlantic salmon for health reasons, and that it should be done on land instead.
According to Trusal, this situation, "should be technically revised." They argue that the estuary water, "has environmental qualities, lower power consumption, local dispersion and dilution, a lower organic load to produce healthy smolts if handled properly. However, this will have to be done on farms and this means using more energy for smolts per unit."
For its part, the national director of the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca), Juan Luis Ansoleaga, said that the government watchdog is prepared to face the challenges of the new regulations for aquaculture.
He also clarified that, to monitor compliance with the new law, they will increase their budget for aquaculture by around five per cent in order to incorporate seven new staff members: six in the Aysen region and one in Magallanes. The main objective is to, "safeguard the health and environmental status of aquaculture," he said.
FIS
www.fis.com
