Fisheries secretary Raúl Sunico intends to make Chilen salmon industry control stricter. (Photo: Raúl Sunico Twitter)
CHILE
Friday, July 04, 2014, 23:50 (GMT + 9)
The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) is working on a process that will have significant impact on the Chilean salmon industry.
The objective of this government agency is to tighten the control on salmon companies to avoid cases like Invertec Pesquera Mar de Chiloe (Invermar).
Recently, the firm refused to perform an early harvest of its Traiguén I farming centre, after the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) detected the presence of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus at the beginnings of 2014.
The central government is working on a small amendment to the act to grant further power to SERNAPESCA as to the sanitary field, for example, in the determination of the early harvest and the elimination of ISA-affected fish in the infected farms.
Chilean authorities are afraid that if businesses decide not to harvest in advance in their farms or remove diseased fish despite the identification of the presence of the ISA virus, it could spread to the surrounding area, affecting other sites and salmon, reported the newspaper Estrategia.
The idea is to clarify the power that SERNAPESCA has and improve the way the health control procedures are implemented.
Meanwhile, Sernapesca recently reported that the European Union (EU) had deemed Chile as one of the best countries in health control for the salmon industry.
The announcement follows the visit of officials from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), under the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (SANCO) of the EU, made to Chile, to observe the implementation of disease control measures in the national salmon industry.
The audit team's visit was completed between November and December 2013 in order to analyze the export of live animals and animal products to the EU market.
The delegates assessed the disease monitoring programmes carried out by SERNAPESCA and the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), and stressed in particular the specific programme for Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus.
Related articles:
- EU stresses ISA control programme in Chile
- Salmon firms’ inspections to be tightened