April 20, 2020

Chilean salmon farmers experience fish die-offs

Earlier this month, Mowi Chile and Marine Farm have reported Atlantic salmon die-offs that killed tens of thousands of their fishes in separate incidents, the country's regulator said.

Chilean fishing and aquaculture regulator Sernapesca said that Mowi Chile's Pulelo centre in Chile's Los Lagos region experienced mortalities of some 20,000 1-kg salmon on April 15.

Three days earlier, Marine Farm experienced a mass mortality of around 10,000 salmon with an average weight of 4.3 kg at its Mellimoyu farm in the Aysen region.

The cause of the Mowi die-off is under investigation but the Marine Farm incident was related to algae, the regulator said.

"To date, no other cultivation centres with abnormal mortality due to algae or other causes have been detected in the area. The service has reinforced its strategy of surveillance and monitoring of reports of mortalities by companies. And it reiterates the importance that—in accordance with current regulations—companies notify the authority of these events," the regulator said.

The companies have implemented contingency plans, Sernapesca said.