Global Aquaculture Alliance — The Advocate
With sustainability and environmental protection becoming increasingly prominent in Chile, recycling firms like Greenspot are drawing attention.
Innovations in broodstock, farm and production management could cut antibiotic usage by Chile’s salmon farming industry by 50 percent in five years.
Few could argue that a reduction in sea lice-fighting chemicals isn't a win for the fish and for the environment. The downside, however, is that increasing numbers of cleaner fish are being caught for use on salmon farms.
Chile’s farmed salmon industry has had a rough decade. A lot is riding on its ability to work through the turbulence, including 70,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in annual sales. Is reducing production the answer?
In his first piece for the Advocate, industry veteran Phil Walsh, VP of Growth for Alfa Gamma Seafood Group in Miami, wonders why consumers are so comfortable with farm-raised land animals, but not farm-raised fish.
A unique pilot project supported by northern Chile’s biggest power-generating company and the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture is raising cobia in a recirculating aquaculture system in the desert.
Sea lice are a significant threat to the Chilean salmon-farming industry. Chilean salmon farmers also understand that prevention and good management practices based on biosecurity measures are the best tools to minimize outbreaks of disease.
Integrated aquaponic operations can improve water use efficiency because plants participate in nitrogen and phosphorus removal and integration.
While Chile’s mussel industry has entered a growth phase, challenges remain, especially in the seed production and grow-out components. This contrasts with the well-developed nature of the country’s processing plants and marketing outlets.
Environmental and fish health problems have affected Chile’s salmon farmers since 2004. As production ramped up, 2006 saw an increase in sea lice that reduced output. In 2007, infectious salmon anemia spread across the farming region and quickly cut production.