The Chilean fishery and aquiculture service Sernapesca has certified Marine Harvest’s Yaotal Atlantic salmon farm as being free of antibiotic use, the first Atlantic salmon farm to receive the certification in Chile.
According to the deputy director aquiculture for Sernapesca, Alicia Gallarado, this farm, located in central Chiloe, joins a number of coho farms with the certification in the southern Magallanes and northern Los Lagos regions, Chilean business daily Estrategia reported.
The certification is part of an effort from Chilean authorities and the country’s fishing industry to reduce its dependence on antibiotics in salmon farms.
“In this context there is an important effort being made by the industry and also from the institutions, regarding competitivity, the position in international markets and the optimization of how the industry produces,” Gallarado said.
The official also highlighted the importance of this initiative for reducing the environmental impact of areas in Chile’s fishing regions.
Gallarado said the authorities are interested in “Reducing, and eventually eliminating the use of antimicrobial agents, which will be a tremendous contribution to reducing the environmental impact of the activity”.
The certification is voluntary, and companies can request an inspection from authorities, and corresponds to the sea farming of the species. Coho farms have already moved this direction, with 39 carrying the certification, or around 50 percent of farms, in the Los Lagos region since the initiative was introduced.
