The reduction of antibiotic use in salmon production by half over a two-year span is the main aim of a new project just undertaken by a subset of Chile’s aquaculture sector.
The endeavor, called the Pincoy project, involves prominent aquaculture producers in Chile including Skrettig, AquaGen/Blue Genomics, Centrovet, Pharmaq, Cermaq, Blumar and Ventisqueros, reported Economia y Negocios. Sernapesca and SalmonChile have also lent their support for the project.
"The main objective of Pincoy is to reduce the amount of antibiotics used for the production of salmon in the Chilean industry, and we hope that by 2018 this figure will drop half of what we currently have," Ronald Barlow, general manager of Skretting, told the newspaper.
"We have been promoting respect that as an industry, we decrease the use of antimicrobials, and considering not only the disease but beyond that, and we focus on the prevention, control, collaboration between companies,” Barlow added.
The companies involved in the project will try to devise a common approach to fish monitoring that considers the production process, genetics, vaccinations, diets and environmental soundness associated with Chile’s hatcheries and fattening plants, according to the article.
The average cost of supplying antibiotics each year to farmed salmon in Chile amounts to USD 58 million (EUR 51.7 million), according to Economia y Negocios.
