Some 3.6 million smolts were sown in February in contrast with just 600,000 in June 2009. (Photo: Stock File/FIS)

Salmon sowings soar six-fold

CHILE
Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 22:20 (GMT + 9)

National salmon farming managed to survive a critical 2009 – due to complications caused by infectious-salmon-anaemia (ISA) virus outbreaks and their sanitary, environmental and labour consequences – and it is on its way to reclaiming better productive levels.

In February 2010 some 3.6 million smolts were sown, whereas the figure reached only 600,000 smolts in June 2009.

In spite of the encouraging data, the Salmon Industry Association of Chile AG (SalmonChile) opted for prudence.

"We already passed through the worst. We didn’t expect a sowing like this,” says the president of SalmonChile, Cesar Barros. It underscores that those figures demonstrate that “the sector recovery is accelerating.”

The union estimates that the industry will take between five and seven years to recover the levels previous to the crisis, that is, to be able to export salmons worth USD 2.5 billion annually, La Tercera reports.

Meanwhile, Carlos Odrebet, general manager of SalmonChile, maintains that the ISA "is like the flu: you never eliminate it, but you can lower its prevalence.”

"When the sanitary crisis was unleashed, producers moved up the harvests of healthy fish and sold them last year, to avoid contagion and they died. For that reason they were left with little stock,” Odebret adds.

In terms of the corporate sector, Invertec Pesquera Mar de Chiloe (Invermar) managed to reduce its losses to USD 45 million in 2009, against USD 73 million that was lost in 2008. And it will increase its working capital by USD 19 million to finance sowings during 2010 and 2011.

After years of crisis, industry salmon farming also faces the implementation of the new General Fisheries and Aquaculture Law (LGPA), which creates ‘neighbourhoods,’ among other points.

The farming centres must be coordinated geographically, the periods of rest agreed to as well as the sanitary treatments.

Chilean salmon farming companies will have to invest more than USD 1 billion between 2011 and 2014 to fulfil the new environmental and sanitary requirements set forth in the new LGPA.

Some USD 600 million would have to be allocated to working capital, and the rest, USD 400 million, to the development of new infrastructure to increase security and control levels that prevent contagion among fish, El Mercurio reports.

Related articles:

- Aquaculture law requirements to demand USD 1 bln plus
- Salmon firm Invertec’s outlook improves

By Analia Murias
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print