Chilean salmon farmer Salmones Camanchaca said it expects to harvest between 8,000 and 9,000 metric tons (MT) of antibiotic-free salmon annually by 2024, as the company attempts to cater to more-discerning markets.
Salmones Camanchaca said the antibiotic-free product is highly appreciated by consumers mindful of nutritional foods that protect the immune system – particularly in markets such as Japan, which makes up between 80 and 90 of the company's demand. Camanchaca said it expects to further promote the new product in the United States, where it markets its mass-consumption brand Pier33.
"The market is willing to reward these efforts, and under that consideration, this is something we plan to maintain, seeking to consolidate sales and opening new niche [markets] of interest," Salmones Camanchaca Commercial Manager Daniel Silva said.
Camanchaca announced its third-consecutive harvest season of coho salmon, which will run through mid-January 2022, did not require the use antibiotics during the cultivation of this species. The harvest began on 1 November and will run until mid-January 2022.
During the first and second seasons, the firm harvested some 5,000 MT of coho salmon, and it said it projects reaching 6,000 MT by 2023.
The company credited high-nutrition diets, a strict vaccination plan, and significant R&D efforts on genetics with increase its salmon's disease resistance.
Chile’s salmon-farming industry has intensified its efforts to reduce its overall use of antibiotics, which are used to combat salmonid rickettsial septicaemia (SRS), which is caused by the bacterium Piscirickettsia salmonis. The disease affects salmon in the grow-out stage at sea centers and can cause high mortality.
Salmones Camanchaca is increasingly turning to coho salmon over Atlantic salmon in order to reduce its exposure to SRS, as its cycle in salt water only lasts seven to eight months, making it less prone to infections. Further, it harvests coho before Chile's summer, when the risk of algae blooms increases due to higher water temperatures, something that has been an issue at its farming centers in the Los Lagos Region.
“We aim to develop a competitive but sustainable salmon farming and the continuous decrease in the use of antimicrobials in coho salmon is in response to that approach," Camanchaca Sustainability Manager Alfredo Tello said. "However, it should be noted that we are committed to the responsible and efficient use of antibiotics in the remainder of our production cycles, where appropriate. Each treatment with antibiotics is always prescribed by a certified veterinarian and with clinical evidence when treatment is required."
The firm's full harvest for 2021 – which is mainly comprised of Atlantic salmon – was estimated at between 42,000 to 43,000 MT whole-fish equivalent (WFE). Camanchaca has previous said it eventually expects to reach up to 70,000 MT in annual production.
In October, Salmones Camanchaca shareholders approved a capital increase of up to USD 30 million (EUR 25.8 million) called for by the company to support its 2021-2023 investment plan, which includes increasing water-renewal and -circulation at its farming centers, implementing a series of risk-mitigation technologies, recovering the biomass it lost in the first half of 2021, and strengthening its financial position.
Photo courtesy of Salmones Camanchaca
