After an outbreak of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) nearly wiped out it’s entire supply in 2003-04, the Faeroe Islands farmed salmon industry is back on top with production reaching pre-outbreak levels.
“Four to five years ago, we went from 50,000 tons to 10,000. Now we’re back to 50,000,” Birgir Kass, sales manager for Salmex, told SeafoodSoure during the International Boston Seafood Show on Tuesday. “ISA almost wiped out the entire salmon industry in the Faeroe Islands.”
And the region isn’t taking any chances with another outbreak. After the 2003 outbreak, the government worked closely with the industry to put in place new regulations to prevent any future problems.
“We rebounded within three to four years. We’ve been a lot more strict. We have a lot less density in the cages,” said Kass. “I think we have the most restricted rules concerning [fish] farming in the whole world.”
Now, salmon-farming companies are required to have 3 aquaculture areas, one for baby fish, one for fish that are to be harvested and one that is completely empty. Once the third area has been empty for three months, it can be stocked with salmon again.
In addition, due to limited space, the region will never produce much more than it’s current 50,000 tons. If the region produces more than 60,000 tons – which Kass expects to hit next year – farming will have to reach too far offshore, putting the industry at higher risk for another disease outbreak and other issues.
Other countries can learn a lot from the Faeroe’s rapid recovery. According to Kass, salmon farmers from Norway have already sought advice on how to tackle its own ISA problems.
“It’s strange with Chile; [the pens are still stocked] too densely,” said Kass. “I think Chile will be in exactly the same situation they are in right now in three years’ time. They are growing way, way too fast. They’re all farming in the same area, which is basically a huge fjord with a current that goes backward and forward, so if one farm [gets infected] the current will infect everything.”
