The Chilean salmon farming industry’s use of antibiotics at 557.2 metric tons (MT) last year was close to four times higher than it was five years previously, confirmed a document on antimicrobial use in the sector that was published by the country’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca).
While this volume was similar to that of 2014, the report pointed to a 109,000 MT decline in last year’s total harvest, meaning there was a large increase in the percentage of antibiotics per ton of harvested biomass. The index recorded an antibiotic level of 0.066 percent, the highest since 2007, said Sernapesca.
In 2010, Chile’s salmon farming companies used 143.17 MT of antibiotics. In 2011, this increased to 206.8 MT and continued on this upward trend, reaching 337.9 MT in 2012, 450.7 MT in 2013 and 563.2 MT in 2014.
Stressing the importance of publishing information on the use of antibiotics in salmon farming, Sernapesca National Director, Jose Miguel Burgos, acknowledged the "growing concern from the public” regarding the production processes of the salmon industry, adding that “it seems important to respond to this interest to greater transparency.”
The new report contained the antibiotic use of 22 of the 25 salmon companies with farms in the sea, and Burgos said he was confident that subsequent versions of the report would document 100 percent of the industry.
In 2015, Chile’s salmon exports earned USD 3.5 billion (EUR 3.1 billion), 20 percent less than in the previous year.
